LONDON, July 21. /TASS/. Initiatives on Ukrainian reconciliation, put forward by a group of African countries, deserve attention and resonate with Russia’s own stance, Russian Charge d’Affaires in the UK Alexander Gusarov said on Thursday.

"We recognize the desire and interest of African countries to contribute to the search for peaceful solutions to the Ukrainian crisis. We value their understanding for the underlying reasons behind ongoing events. We believe that the initiatives, sponsored by our partners from across the world, including from Africa, deserve attention and are by no means premature. Moreover, some of their key premises resonate strongly with our own views. I’m referring to the consistent application of the international law with the UN Charter at its core, as well as the fundamental aims and principles contained therein, such as sovereign equality and non-intervention into internal affairs," the Russian diplomat told African diplomats in London at a briefing.

A delegation from seven African countries, including the presidents of Zambia, the Comoros, Senegal and South Africa; the prime minister of Egypt; and presidential envoys from the Republic of the Congo and Uganda, visited Kiev on June 16 for talks with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. The next day, the mission was received by Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg. On June 17, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, on behalf of the delegation, presented a ten-point plan that could help lay the foundation for a peace process in Ukraine. It was agreed that during the Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg in July, the mission would continue consultations on the matter with the Russian side.

The second Russia-Africa summit is set to take place in Russia’s second largest city of St. Petersburg on July 27-28. The first summit was held on October 22-24, 2019 in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi. The event's motto was "For Peace, Security and Development.".