President Cyril Ramaphosa has held a briefing with Chinese President Xi Jin Ping on the African Leaders Peace Mission to Ukraine and Russia to try and persuade both parties to get to a negotiation table to end the ongoing conflict.
Ramaphosa last month announced the formation of an African delegation comprising the presidents of the Republic of Congo, Egypt, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia.
African countries have been among the hardest hit by rising prices for grain since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Ukraine is one of the world’s biggest producers of wheat, fertilizers and other agricultural commodities.
“President Ramaphosa noted the peace plan that has been proposed by China and affirmed South Africa’s and the other African leaders’ support of initiatives that are aimed at a peaceful resolution to the conflict,”said the Presidency in a statement.
“President Xi Jin Ping commended the initiative by the African continent and acknowledged the impact the conflict has had on human lives and on food security in Africa.
“The leaders also discussed their cooperation at Brics and preparations for the upcoming summit. They both committed to work towards a successful summit.”
Johannesburg is set to host the next Brazil,Russia, India, South Africa (Brics) summit in August but there is some uncertainty regarding the attendance of Russian President Vladimir Putin because of the warrant of his arrest issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes.
South Africa is signatory to the Rome Statute and is obliged to arrest Putin if he steps foot in the country.
