Putin, African leaders agree to continue dialogue on Ukraine: Kremlin

Aug 4, 2023 - 12:43

This image captured from a video shows Russian President Vladimir Putin delivering a national address in Moscow, Russia, June 26, 2023. Russian President Vladimir Putin in a national address on Monday urged the members of the Wagner private military group to sign contract with the country's defense ministry, return home or go to Belarus. TO GO WITH "1st LD Writethru: Putin lays out options for Wagner soldiers in national address" (Xinhua)

MOSCOW, Aug. 4 (Xinhua)

Russian President Vladimir Putin and leaders of seven African countries involved in a peace mission on Ukraine agreed to continue their dialogue, a Russian official said on Thursday.

"Indeed, the dialogue will continue," Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov told Russia's TASS news agency. "There are no exact dates yet."

South African authorities released on Thursday a joint statement by Putin and the African peace mission following their meeting on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa Summit held in St. Petersburg in late July. The mission, led by South Africa, also includes Comoros, Senegal, Zambia, Egypt, the Republic of Congo and Uganda.

The statement said that the leaders agreed to continue the dialogue, supported lifting sanctions on Russian grain and fertilizer exports and acknowledged the progress made on humanitarian aspects of the initiative.

This was the second round of such talks this summer. The first occurred on June 17, when Putin said Moscow was open to negotiations with Kiev.

In June, the African peace delegation visited Ukraine and Russia and presented a ten-point peace plan that calls for ending the conflict through negotiation and diplomatic means and de-escalating tensions on both sides.