African leaders head to Ukraine, Russia on peace mission

A group of African leaders is expected to arrive in Poland Thursday on their mediation mission in the Russia-Ukraine war, a statement by President Museveni  said Wednesday.

“I was supposed to have joined them tomorrow (Thursday). I have now sent an official message that, on account of my continued corona (virus) status, I cannot join the group,” President Yoweri Museveni said in a statement on Twitter.

Museveni said six African presidents from Comoros, Egypt, South Africa, Senegal, Congo- Brazzaville, and Zambia are supposed to arrive in Poland on Thursday to take the train trip to Kyiv to mediate in the Russia-Ukraine war.

The African leaders want to persuade Ukraine and Russia into talks that could end the war.

Museveni, 78, has delegated Ruhakana Rugunda, a former prime minister, to represent him as he recovers from the COVID-19 virus that he has been battling for a week now.

Last week, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa spoke with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over the phone and briefed him about the “African leaders’ peace mission.”

“President Putin has welcomed the initiative by African heads of state and expressed his desire to receive the peace mission,” a statement from Ramaphosa’s office said last week.

“From Poland, they will go to Russia to meet with the Russians. I wish the mission success,” Museveni said in his statement.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has welcomed the African leaders’ mission, as has Ukraine. But in an online news conference last week, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba warned that some things are non-negotiable.

“Any peace initiative should respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine, it should not imply, even in-between the lines, any cessation of Ukrainian territory to Russia. Second, any peace plan should not lead to the freezing of the conflict,” said Kuleba.

Ramaphosa is a seasoned negotiator, having been instrumental in talks that ended apartheid.