Chinese President Xi Jinping has reportedly expressed his support to the intention of African countries to visit Kiev and Moscow as part of a peace mission initiated in a bid to put an end to the conflict in Ukraine during a telephone conversation with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Endorsing the idea of Ramaphosa and other African leaders to organize a peace delegation and hold talks with the warring sides, the president expressed his hope for a peaceful resolution of the conflict.
"I hope that all parties will create conditions for resolving the crisis through dialogue," he is quoted as saying.
Xi also noted that China's position on the Ukrainian crisis is consistent and aimed at insisting on and advancing peace talks. He stated that the African peace mission is a "good initiative" that will enable those countries advocating for peace and justice to reasonably speak out in support of negotiations.
On Wednesday, the Brazzaville Foundation, which is organizing the African mission to Ukraine, announced that African leaders are going to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 17 in St. Petersburg. On June 16, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to meet with African leaders in Kiev.
Earlier, the founder of the Brazzaville Foundation and initiator of the mission, Jean-Yves Olivier, told Sputnik that the main goal of the mission of African countries in Ukraine is to initiate and assist in establishing dialogue between the two nations.
He noted that negotiations through the mission of African countries will be held without preconditions, and the mission itself is the first of its kind that both the Russian president and his Ukrainian counterpart have agreed to accept.