ST. PETERSBURG, July 30. /TASS/. The African peace initiative to resolve the Ukrainian crisis, along with the Chinese one and other similar proposals, can form the basis for peace process, Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters.
"The [African] initiative, in my opinion, can be the basis of some processes aimed at search for peace, like others, for example, the Chinese peace initiative," he said.
Putin noted that, in general, the conversation about the peace initiative was long and substantive, stressing that it lasted about two hours. "Everyone spoke out on this issue," the head of state said.
"I want to emphasize once again: it was from an absolutely friendly position. It was a real search for some ways, some opportunities in order to defuse the situation," the Russian President added.
On May 14, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that African countries were working on an attempt to convince the Russian Federation and Ukraine to start negotiations. On June 16, the peace mission visited Kiev, where it held talks with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. The next day, the mission was received by Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg. The main provisions of the African initiative were not officially disclosed. However, at the night meeting Putin noted that the African initiative was close to the Chinese plan to resolve the situation around Ukraine.