President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and African leaders during a meeting on the African initiative to settle the Russia-Ukraine crisis as part of the Russia-Africa Summit at Saint Petersburg, Russia. Photo courtesy of Egyptian Presidency
This meeting comes during the second edition of the Russia-Africa Summit, which kicked off in St. Petersburg on Thursday with the participation of 49 countries, including Egypt, represented by nearly 45 heads of state.
According to the statement, the leaders discussed recent developments regarding the African initiative to end the Russia-Ukraine crisis, reaffirming Africa’s stake in the conflict, which negatively impacts the continent’s food security, finances and energy sector.
The meeting concluded with an agreement to continue the African agenda by developing mechanisms to encourage positive engagement from both Russia and Ukraine in the near future, as per the statement.
On Friday, Putin stated that Moscow is "carefully" examining proposals made by some African leaders to end the conflict.
"We respect your initiatives and are examining them carefully," he said.
"Previous mediation initiatives were monopolized by so-called advanced democracies. Now Africa too is ready to help resolve problems that appear to be outside its area of priorities," added the Russian president.
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