MOSCOW, August 7. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin praised African nations for their efforts to resolve the Ukraine conflict in a phone call with South African leader Cyril Ramaphosa, the Kremlin press service said in a statement.

"The Russian side also noted positively the peace initiative aimed at resolving the Ukraine crisis, which was put forward by a group of African countries, including South Africa," the statement reads.

A number of African nations came up with a ten-point peace plan for Ukraine in the summer of 2023. The initiative particularly highlights the need to hold urgent peace talks, take mutual steps for de-escalation, provide security guarantees to all countries and ensure humanitarian support.

African officials, including Ramaphosa, handed their proposals over to Vladimir Zelensky during a visit to Kiev. However, he later criticized those proposals, as well as the African leaders’ communication with Vladimir Putin. The Russian leader, in turn, said that he took the peace initiative seriously and appreciated the African nations’ approach as they sincerely wanted to help find ways to settle the conflict.