2023-06-16 11:58:18
African leaders may propose a range of “confidence-building measures” during their initial efforts to mediate the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, according to a draft document seen by Reuters on Thursday.
Senegalese President Macky Sall and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa head a delegation that includes leaders from Zambia, Comoros and Egypt’s prime minister, who will travel to Kiev on Friday and St. Saturday.
They are expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The document, which has not been made public, lists a range of measures that could be proposed by African leaders as part of the first phase of leaders’ engagement with conflict parties.
Those steps could include withdrawing Russian troops, removing tactical nuclear weapons from Belarus, lifting an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against Putin and easing sanctions.
The list also includes an “unconditional grain and fertilizer agreement”.
African countries have been hard hit by the aftermath of the war, which has disrupted the supply of grains and other foodstuffs, exacerbated food price inflation and worsened existing food crises on the continent.
By Johannesburg; Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols at the United Nations and Tom Balmforth in Kiev
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