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Putin confirms several African leaders will visit Russia soon

"We agreed to discuss current matters, including the grain deal," the President said

MOSCOW, June 13. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has confirmed that the leaders of several African countries will soon arrive in Russia.

"The leaders of several African countries are expected to come to Russia soon. We agreed to discuss current matters, including the grain deal," he said at a meeting with war correspondents.

A source told TASS earlier in the day that a delegation of seven African presidents may visit Ukraine and Russia as soon as this week to discuss their peace initiative. According to the source, the delegation "will apparently arrive in Russia after the SPIEF (St. Petersburg International Economic Forum - TASS).

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on May 16 that Russian and Ukrainian authorities had agreed to receive an African delegation to try to find ways to peacefully settle the conflict. He spoke on behalf of six African nations, namely Egypt, Zambia, the Republic of the Congo, Senegal, Uganda, and South Africa. Now, the Comoros, the current African Union chair, has also joined in. Ramaphosa said he was ready to lead the mission of the seven African leaders.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, in turn, came out with an initiative to set up a new international format involving countries which are ready to act as mediators between Moscow and Kiev.

Kiev, however, continues to insist on its own "peace formula" and rejects other proposals.

According to Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s peace plan is nothing but a US-compiled manual on how to ignite a conflict in Europe. Meanwhile, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that Zelensky’s statements about a peaceful settlement are a far cry from the current realities.

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Foreign policy Vladimir Putin

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