Russia has a positive attitude towards the African initiative on Ukrainian settlement, earlier announced by the South Africa's president, but it is necessary to study it, says Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov.
"We need to see what ideas and proposals they [African countries] come up with. Of course, we need to understand what their thoughts are, because there are many who want to organize mediation efforts," Bogdanov said.
Commenting on the Ramaphosa's initiative, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that following the talks that were held between Putin and Ramaphosa earlier this week, it was decided that a number of countries will send a delegation to resolve the Ukrainian crisis.
"You know that there was a telephone conversation between Putin and Ramaphosa, very constructive, very lengthy, and, indeed, Ramaphosa said that, of course, Africa, as the largest continent, also considers it necessary to express its voice in international efforts to resolve the well-known situation in Ukraine." "We have already said that we are ready to listen with great attention to any proposals that will contribute to the settlement of the situation in Ukraine," Peskov said.
On Tuesday, South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a peace initiative on Ukraine, saying that both Russian President Putin and Ukrainian President Zelensky had agreed to receive a mission of leaders of African nations.
The South African president added that facilitators of the African initiative had informed Western countries of the plan, which had received "cautious support" there.
The peace mission would contribute to other efforts aimed to bring about a peaceful solution to the year-long conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Ramaphosa stated, adding that the success of the mission would depend on the discussions that would be held in both Moscow and Kiev.
Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Gutteres and the office of the African Union had also been briefed on the African peace initiative on Ukraine, the president said.