No talks before troop withdrawal
Selenskyj remains firm with the Africa delegation
06/16/2023, 9:50 p.m
A delegation of African heads of state is traveling to Kiev with a peace initiative. During her visit, the Ukrainian capital is attacked by missiles from Russia. Nevertheless, the heads of state also want to speak to Kremlin chief Putin. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is skeptical.
After meeting with a delegation of representatives from various African countries, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy canceled talks with Moscow ahead of a Russian troop withdrawal. “Allowing any talks with Russia while the occupier is on our soil means freezing the war, pain and suffering,” Zelenskyy said at a press conference in Kiev, according to the Interfax-Ukraine agency. His country needs a real peace and at the same time “a real withdrawal of Russian troops from all our independent soil”.
Heads of state and government from Egypt, Senegal, Zambia, the Comoros and special representatives from Congo and Uganda traveled to Kiev under the leadership of South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa. Coinciding with their visit, the Ukrainian capital was again attacked by Russian missiles. The Africans want to explore possibilities for peace in the war that has been going on for almost 16 months. They also want to travel to St. Petersburg in Russia on Saturday. A meeting with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin is also expected there. Ramaphosa said they wanted to talk to Putin about the United Nations Charter. The territorial integrity of the states stipulated there must be respected.
Selenskyj was skeptical about the chances of success in the talks with Putin. Regarding the African delegation’s plan to travel to Russia, he said: “It’s their decision. I don’t really understand whether that’s reasonable.”
The African delegation first wants to propose a series of confidence-building measures, according to a draft seen by the Reuters news agency. One goal is to persuade the two warring parties to negotiate. The withdrawal of Russian troops, the ban on Russian stationing of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, the suspension of the international arrest warrant against Putin and relaxation of sanctions against Russia could be brought to the table. This could be followed by a cease-fire agreement, the document said. For this, there must be negotiations between Russia and the West.