The African peace initiative on the Russia-Ukraine conflict is intended to push Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky into dialogue with Russia, a source close to the talks told Sputnik Africa, noting that new visits to Kiev and Moscow are planned.
"The goal of this mission is not to negotiate peace. These people are at the disposal of the parties to facilitate dialogue with a focus on cessation of hostilities," the source said.
The source added, "Zelensky is bound, he and all Ukrainians, by an adopted law that forbids any Ukrainian, including the president, to negotiate with Russia."
The African initiative will make it possible to circumvent this obligation: "It's the middle way, i.e. talking to the Africans, who in turn can talk to Russia," the source explained.
According to the source, the meetings will be organized at the level of foreign ministers or "jointly designated officials."
It should be noted that the initiative was announced in mid-May 2023 by the South African presidency and the Brazzaville Foundation, which is organizing the process.
In June, a delegation of African leaders led by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa traveled to both Ukraine and Russia to present their views to the parties.
The initiative presented a 10-point peace plan that included de-escalation of the conflict on both sides, diplomatic negotiations, ensuring the sovereignty of states in accordance with the UN Charter, prisoner exchange, post-conflict reconstruction, and other points.
In response to some of these points, Putin pointed out that Ukraine itself had withdrawn from negotiations with Russia, although a peace agreement had been initialed in Istanbul, which he showed to the African delegation.