Russia Says Open to Ukraine Peace Proposals from Africa, Brazil

Both Russia and Ukraine have agreed to host a leader of African leaders to discuss peace

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday that Moscow is ready to look at peace proposals for the conflict in Ukraine from African leaders and Brazil.

“In both cases we responded to initiatives from Latin American and African friends that we were ready to consider any of their proposals that were prompted by a sincere desire to help stabilize the world order,” Lavrov said, according to TASS.

His comments come after South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have agreed to host a delegation of African leaders to discuss a peace proposal. The plan is backed by Ramaphosa and the leaders of Senegal, Uganda, Egypt, the Republic of the Congo, and Zambia.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been calling for diplomacy to end the fighting in Ukraine, but Lavrov said he hasn’t seen a written proposal. “So far, unlike our Chinese neighbors, we have not seen documents on the issue either from the Brazilians or the Africans,” he said.

“We have confirmed our readiness to maintain contacts whenever they are interested, because it is in our interests to deliver to as many as possible of our partners on all continents the logic that becomes clear to an independent observer,” Lavrov added.

In February, China released a 12-point peace plan for the conflict that calls for a pause in fighting and for negotiations to resume. Beijing has sent a special envoy to visit the region, Li Hui, who has already arrived in Kyiv. Li will also visit Russia, France, Germany, and Poland.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.