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The former Prime Minister of Uganda, Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda has today arrived in Russia for the peace talks aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war.
Dr. Rugunda who is representing President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni in the mediation talks was received by the Ambassador of Uganda to Russia, H.E Moses. K. Kizige at Pulkovo Airport- Saint Petersburg.
Dr. Rugunda is expected to join other African leaders from six countries, scheduled to meet with the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin to discuss a potential peace plan to resolve the conflict.
Yesterday, the African leader’s delegation led by South Africa President, H.E Cyril Ramaphosa held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv where they urged the two warring countries to settle the war through negotiations and diplomatic means.
President Ramaphosa said the conflict is affecting Africa negatively and that there was a need to de-escalate it.
“In our view it’s important to listen carefully to what both countries have to say. We are also going to listen to President Putin with regard to how he sees the road to peace. But we also take in cognizance of a number of other proposals that have been made by a number of other parties around the world and we do believe that this process for peace as much as it is complex, it requires that all viewpoints must be put on the table,” President Ramaphosa told the media shortly after a closed-door peace mission meeting with President Zelenskyy.
“This war must be settled and there should be peace through negotiations and diplomatic means, and we should advance towards that peace because all wars in the end do come to an end. And we believe that this war should be brought to an end as quickly as possible,” he added.
On his part, President Zelenskyy rejected the idea of peace talks with Russia, which he said would simply freeze the war in Ukraine.
“I clearly said several times at our meeting that to allow any negotiations with Russia now that the occupier is on our land is to freeze the war, to freeze pain and suffering,” President Zelenskyy told the press.
“The only thing Russia is interested in is producing more missiles and committing more crimes against the UN Charter. Any negotiations are considered by the Russian leadership as the ability to gain more force and even to have more aggression against Ukraine,” he further stressed.
President Zelenskyy also extended invitations to African leaders to participate in a global peace formula summit.
The other African leaders on the peace mission include; H.E Macky Sall- the President of Senegal, H.E Azali Assoumani – President of Comoros who also doubles as the current Chair of African Union (AU), H.E Hichilema Hakainde- the President of Zambia, H.E Mostafa Madbouly – Prime minister of Egypt and a Special Envoy representing the President of Congo Brazzaville.
Story and Pictures by PPU