South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa during a Russia-Africa summit on Monday called for a peace plan between Russia and Ukraine .
The meeting, which begins on Thursday in the Russian city of St Petersburg, “will provide an opportunity to continue discussions with President (Vladimir) Putin on confidence-building measures,’’ Ramaphosa said.
South Africa’s president is leading an African peace initiative to end Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine.
This has gained new urgency for African nations because of Moscow’s recent decision to pull out of the international deal which triggered sharp international criticism.
The deal was struck to help secure supply for countries that rely on grain from the war-torn region.
In June, an African delegation led by Ramaphosa travelled to Moscow and Kiev to mediate, but no success was achieved.
Besides South Africa, the African delegation includes representatives from Egypt, Senegal, Zambia, the Republic of Congo, Uganda and the Comoros.
Many African states were suffering from the war as it has disrupted supplies of grain and fertilizer from Russia and Ukraine on which they depend.
Russia did not extend the agreement because it insists that conditions for facilitating its agricultural exports had not been met.
The United Nations had condemned Russia for not extending the agreement, saying it would result in more deaths from starvation for people in the poorest regions who were already suffering severely.
