Jabar Ekspres – Russian President Vladimir Putin met with a peace delegation from African countries seeking to end the Russia-Ukraine war at Constantine Palace in St. Petersburg on Saturday (June 17).
Earlier, the delegation met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, on Friday (16/6).
The delegation included African Union chairman and Comoros President Azalo Assoumani, as well as South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Senegalese President Macky Sall, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Madbuli and heads of state from Congo and Uganda.
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Policy Advisor Yuriy Ushakov were also present at the meeting that lasted more than three hours.
“We are open to a constructive dialog with anyone who wants to create peace, based on the principles of justice and taking into account the legitimate interests of the parties,” Putin said at the start of the meeting.
After listening to Ramaphosa’s 10-point peace offering, Putin said problems began in Ukraine after a Western-backed “unconstitutional bloody state coup” in 2014, and Putin claimed that the coup was the “source of power” of the current government.
Noting that Russia supported some Ukrainians who said they would not support the ruling government with a coup due to historical and cultural ties, Putin said the Minsk Agreement was signed between the parties to resolve the issue peacefully.
Putin stated that the Kiev government withdrew from the peace process by not abiding by the peace agreement, so Russia had to subsequently recognize the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic, after eight years of refusing to do so because the regions were formed in Ukraine.
Putin argued that their recognition of these governments followed international law and the UN Charter.
“According to the UN Charter, these governments can declare their independence,” he said.
