PRETORIA, June 26. /TASS/. The South African presidential administration has not confirmed the information circulating in the media about South Africa's participation in talks in Copenhagen on the possible convening of a peace conference on Ukraine in the near future.
South African presidential spokesman Vincent Magwenya told TASS that the South African presidential administration was not aware of these talks.
Earlier, Germany’s ARD TV reported that an international meeting on Ukraine was held in Copenhagen on June 24 "under conditions of strict secrecy" with the participation of diplomats from Western countries, as well as representatives of Brazil, India, China and South Africa. The TV channel noted that the West’s goal was to gain the support of these BRICS countries, which so far have remained neutral in the situation around Ukraine. The talks were held at the initiative of Kiev. According to the TV channel, official negotiations on the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict may take place as early as July.
A TASS source in the South African Foreign Ministry said on Monday that a summit to settle the Ukrainian crisis will be held in Copenhagen in August. Preparations are being made on the basis of a formula presented by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. According to the decision of the South African Cabinet, Fholisani Sydney Mufamadi, national security adviser to the South African president, will travel to Copenhagen on behalf of the South African authorities. According to a South African Foreign Ministry official, the planned meeting in Copenhagen is not an extension of the African peace initiative. Moreover, according to a South African minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, South Africa is willing to host a peace conference to resolve the conflict in Ukraine based on the work of the African peacekeeping mission.
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 format and timetable of its consultations with Kiev have not yet been disclosed.