Ukraine/Russia Crisis :African Delegation To Visit Kyiv, Moscow

A six-man delegation of African leaders will on the 16th and 17th of June 2023 visit Kyiv and Moscow respectively. The aim of the visit is to broker a cease-fire in the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia. Besides President Cyril Ramaphosa who has been heading the preparations, the other members of the African mediation trip include, the Heads of State of Congo-Brazzaville, Egypt, Senegal, Uganda and Zambia. The visit comes after an indication last month by the South African President that, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, have both agreed to receive the African peace mediation team. 
In a statement issued after the announcement of the visit, the South African leader said, he had presented the peace initiative, which was drawn up by Zambia, Senegal, the Republic of Congo, Uganda, Egypt and South Africa, separately to President Putin and Zelenskyy. While, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the African Union (AU) have all been briefed on the initiative and welcomed it. The US and several other major powers have also endorsed the peace plan which comes on the heels of a Chinese initiative. 
Though the official content of their peace mission has not been made public, the African peace delegation apart from trying to convince the two leaders to drop arms and sit on the dialogue table, would also brainstorm on the issue of cereal and fert...