South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has put forward a plan drafted by African leaders to achieve peace in Ukraine at a press conference following talks with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, his speech was reported by RBC-Ukraine, Ukrinform, Strana.ua, and others.
The peace plan contains ten points:
- The war should end peacefully through negotiations;
- The war should end as soon as possible;
- De-escalation is necessary on both sides. Ramaphosa said that he heard explosions during his visit. “The events that we have seen or even felt today [16 June] make our calls for a de-escalation of the situation more important,” he said.
- Respect for sovereignty of states and nations in accordance with the UN Charter;
- Security guarantees for all countries;
- The grain deal should be observed by all parties;
- Humanitarian aid should be provided to those in need. “We support this humanitarian aid,” Ramaphosa noted;
- All prisoners should be swapped, while Ukrainian children should be returned home;
- Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction;
- Stronger cooperation between Ukraine and Africa.
It is not clarified how de-escalation can be achieved or what guarantees should be extended to all countries. Moreover, it is unclear who should be responsible for offering humanitarian aid and rebuilding Ukraine after the war.
The African delegation is also planning to present this plan to Russia during its visit to Moscow later today.
Earlier, an explosion rocked Kyiv following Ramaphosa’s arrival in the Ukrainian capital. Later reports confirmed that the sound came after air defence systems intercepted a target. Nevertheless, two people were injured in the Kyiv region in the attack.
Reuters previously claimed that the African leaders’ draft peace plan contained points on Russia’s withdrawal from Ukraine, reversal of the Kremlin’s decision to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus as well as retraction of Putin’s arrest warrant issued by the ICC and easing of sanctions.