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Kiev ready to discuss Africa’s peace initiative under two conditions — top diplomat

Dmitry Kuleba said that Ukrainian authorities are ready to discuss peace proposals on the condition that they take into account two principles

MOSCOW, May 22. /TASS/. Kiev is open to dialogue with African countries offering assistance in ending hostilities in Ukraine, but no peace initiative should involve freezing the conflict, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said on Monday.

"We do have a group of African leaders coming here. We are open to dialogue with anyone who wants to talk and search for a solution," Kuleba said commenting on the peace initiative of several African countries in a news marathon broadcast by leading Ukrainian TV channels. He stressed, however, that the aforementioned African leaders don’t have a mandate from the African Union, so they will be speaking on behalf of their group only and not of the entire continent.

The top diplomat said that Ukrainian authorities are ready to discuss peace proposals on the condition that they take into account two principles. "The first principle is that no plan can be based on the idea of a legal or de facto transition of Ukrainian territories to Russian control. And the second is that freezing the conflict is out of the question," Kuleba said.

He reiterated Kiev’s stance that the settlement of the conflict must be on its terms. "We need to avoid putting forward an endless number of peace plans," Kuleba said confidently.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on May 16 that Russian and Ukrainian authorities had agreed to receive an African delegation to seek a peaceful resolution to the conflict. Ramaphosa spoke on behalf of six African nations: Egypt, Zambia, the Republic of the Congo, Senegal, Uganda and South Africa. Consultations are currently underway to work out the schedule of the trip. It is expected that a peace mission will visit Moscow and Kiev before the Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg in the second half of July.

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