PRETORIA, June 19. /TASS/. African countries have a strong interest in uninterrupted supplies of grain, fertilizers and other resources through the Black Sea, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday.

"One of the points of the peaceful proposal offered forward by African leaders [to the presidents of Russia and Ukraine] is the opening of grain supply from Russia and from Ukraine through the Black Sea to global markets," he said in a weekly address to South African citizens posted to the presidential website. "Russia and Ukraine are major suppliers of grain and producers of fertilizers meant for African markets. According to the African Development Bank, the conflict [in Ukraine] has led to the shortage of around 30 mln tons of grain on the African continent, as well as a sharp rise in its price. As a result of the conflict, African countries are suffering from growth of prices for food and energy," the president added.

The conflict in Ukraine is having a real impact on African countries and the economy of the continent overall, the South African leader stressed. "We turned the attention of [the] Ukrainian and Russian presidents to the fact that, though we have assumed this mission as members of the international society committed to peaceful construction, we as the African continent are also financially interested in resolving the conflict," he said.

The mission conducted by seven African nations to put forward a joint peace proposal is of historic importance, Ramaphosa noted. "This is the first time that African leaders have gone on a peace-support mission beyond the continent. Though the delegation consisted of countries having various positions on various UN resolutions on the conflict [in Ukraine], all countries present took a non-aligned position on the issue. This attached weight to the mission and fostered confidence from both sides," he emphasized.

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 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, 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 the mission would continue relevant consultations with the Russian side at the upcoming Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg in July. The schedule and format of the mission’s parallel consultations with Kiev have not yet been disclosed.