Chronicle Editor
President Cyril Ramaphosa has arrived in St. Petersburg in Russia for the second leg of the African Peace Mission to the Ukraine and Russia region.
Ramaphosa is alongside other African heads of state from Zambia, the Comoros and Senegal and heads of governments of Congo Brazzaville, Egypt, and Uganda.
The leaders will meet President Vladimir Putin to seek a roadmap to peace to end the 16-month long conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year claiming it wanted to demilitarise and denazify the country. However, Ukrainian forces have put up a strong fight against the much bigger Russian army.
The meeting with Putin today follows consultations yesterday with Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses media in Kyiv, Ukraine:
Meanwhile, ANC Secretary General, Fikile Mbalula says the Russia and Ukraine War directly affects South Africa when it comes to food exports.
Ukraine is a major exporter of sunflower, maize, wheat and barley.
Russia also is a major food exporter as well as an exporter of fertilizer.
Mbalula has been reacting to criticism of African leaders who have travelled to Ukraine and Russia to try mediate peace between the two countries.
Mbalula was speaking at the KwaZulu-Natal provincial workshop in Durban.
“It’s an African mission. You don’t achieve all the results in one day. It takes time. I see people who are not informed in what is happening in the world saying why we go to Ukraine? Why do you bother about that but the cost of living there in SA. You are affected. I’ve never seen such ignorance in this age and time we are living in and the liberation movement led by ANC is important. We’ve abandoned our role, we don’t debate and inform ourselves about what is happening in Ukraine. We have allowed reactionary of backwardness (sic) to dominate the space.”
@SABC NEWS
Londile Moyo
Bongani Ndlovu