Ukraine/Africa (Commonwealth Union)_As a volley of Russian missiles pushed a barrage of strikes across the capital city of Kyiv, African leaders braved their way into a war-ridden city with hopes to mediate between Ukraine and Russia this week. On the agenda of the Peace Mission are meetings with both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, a meeting Zelenskiy disagreed with given that Russia has not been agreeable to peace talks encouraged by Ukraine. He stressed that peace talks with Russia would only be possible if Russia withdrew its forces completely from occupied Ukrainian territory.
However, the African delegation is determined to push for peace in the region with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa saying the leaders are keen on sharing the African perspective and talks with Russia are part of the mission. He exampled former President and Nobel Peace Laureate Nelson Mandela’s ethos of always favoring negotiations even when conflict becomes intense because this is when peace becomes imperative and should be made.
The delegation includes leaders from Senegal, Egypt, Zambia, South Africa, and the Comoro Islands, who all have hopes of mediating an end to the war that has ravaged Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
The current Chair of the African Union, President of the Comoro Islands said it is the responsibility of the leaders to negotiate and not take the cowardly path of simply doing nothing. He stated that the discussions are absolutely necessary at this point in time and stressed that Africa has lived through eras of war and understands the pain. “This is the very reason we need to have a discussion with Putin.”
Africa also sees the war having hit the continent significantly with the disruption of grain and other food supplies which has triggered aggravated inflation and massive food insecurity. With Ukraine being a major global grain producer and exporter during peace times, the leaders were determined to push for a peace pact with Ukraine, to ensure a free flow of grain to Africa.
While African nations have been neutral on the war since it began given that some countries like South Africa received support from the Soviet Union for their independence movements and maintained cordial relations with Russia, most countries now have closer economic links with the United States and Europe. It augurs well for the African nations, therefore, to broker a peace pact between the two warring countries and revert to the former status quo, given that this move will be looked upon favorably by the West who are significant donors and investors in Africa’s development agenda.
