The President of the Republic of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa arrived in Kyiv on his first visit. He plans to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss the "peace initiative".
The President was met by the Special Representative of Ukraine for Africa and the Middle East Maksym Subh and the South African Ambassador to Ukraine Andres Groenewald.
Ramaphosaʼs visit is part of the so-called African peacekeeping mission, which includes the presidents of South Africa, Egypt, Senegal, Uganda, Zambia and the Republic of Congo.
The next day they will all visit St. Petersburg.
French merchant Jean-Yves Olivier acts as a mediator in an African diplomatic mission that wants to help end the Russian-Ukrainian war.
- A delegation of six African leaders plans to hold talks in Kyiv and Moscow to "initiate a peace process". She plans to discuss how to pay Russia for fertilizers that Africa needs under the sanctions, as well as how to facilitate the transit of agricultural products from Ukraine. In addition, the African leaders will touch on the subject of prisoner exchange.
- In mid-May, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa launched a "peace initiative" to help end the war in Ukraine. For this, he suggested forming an African delegation and visiting Kyiv and Moscow. The Office of the President of Ukraine confirmed that Zelensky welcomed such a peace initiative, is ready to receive African leaders and tell them about his peace formula.
- On May 17, Turkish President Recep Erdogan announced that the "grain agreement" was extended for two months. This will allow agricultural products to be exported from Ukrainian ports in the future. At the same time, Russia continues to demand that the West ease sanctions on Russian food and fertilizers.