ST. PETERSBURG, July 30. /TASS/. African countries sincerely want an end to the conflict in Ukraine and kindly remember it as a part of the Soviet Union, Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters.
"When we say that the Soviet Union helped African countries in the struggle for independence, one should not forget that at that time Ukraine was a part of the Soviet Union. They generally have a good attitude towards Ukraine and sincerely, I want to emphasize, sincerely think about what should be done to stop the conflict," he said.
The president added that representatives of African countries did not like nationalists in Ukraine during the Soviet Union and do not like them now. “Some [representatives of African countries] studied in Ukraine. Of course, they studied in Russian. And they did not like the nationalists in Ukraine then and now. Some of them told how they were treated by these nationalists then,” the head of state added.
On May 14, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that African countries were working to persuade Russia 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 Putin in St. Petersburg. The main provisions of the African initiative were not officially disclosed, but Putin noted the proximity of the African initiative and the Chinese plan to settle the situation around Ukraine.