African leaders arrive in Russia to discuss peace plan with Putin after Ukraine visit

Leaders from several African countries arrived in Russia on Saturday as part of their ongoing “peace mission.” 

The presidents of Comoros, Senegal, South Africa and Zambia joined with the prime minister of Egypt and diplomats from Congo and Uganda for the trip. 

The diplomatic mission arrived in St. Petersburg for an audience with Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

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Putin is in the city for a business forum, where he spoke Friday about the deployment of tactical nukes to Belarus.  

Africa has felt the economic toll of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, as much of their key food and fertilizer imports from the region have been disrupted.

The envoy of African leaders previously met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during the first leg of their two-prong peace mission. 

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“This conflict is affecting Africa negatively,” South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said at a Friday news conference. “I do believe that Ukrainians feel that they must fight and not give up. The road to peace is very hard.”

He added, “There is a need to bring this conflict to an end sooner rather than later.”

The diplomatic group of African leaders represents countries with various policies toward the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Egypt, Zambia, and Comoros voted to condemn Russia last year in a United Nations General Assembly. South Africa, Senegal, and Uganda have refrained from penalizing Russia.