Ramaphosa Says African Peace Mission Focused On Food Security

In his weekly newsletter, President Cyril Ramaphosa said that the peace mission of African leaders to Ukraine and Russia stressed that "the African continent also have a material interest in seeing a resolution to the conflict" due to grain shortages and energy cost hikes triggered by the Russo-Ukrainian war.

• One of the points proposed by the African leaders "is for the opening up of the movement of grains across the Black Sea for grains from Russia or Ukraine to reach world markets." This comes after last week Russian officials played down potential for an extension to the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
• Ramaphosa said that "both Presidents Zelensky and Putin agreed to further engagements following this initial visit," suggesting that the African leaders will continue to push for a "de-escalation of the conflict and negotiation, the two crucial preconditions for a lasting peace."
• The peace mission has come under criticism from local commentators after it quickly hit multiple snags. Three African leaders dropped out at the eleventh hour, Ramaphosa's unusually sizeable security team got grounded in Warsaw, while Kyiv reportedly came under Russian missile fire on the arrival of the African delegation. On top of that, the Mail & Guardian reported that a controversial arms dealer was involved in organising the peace mission.