South African President Ramaphosa told Putin that the war in Ukraine must end

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has told Russian leader Vladimir Putin that the war in Ukraine must end.

Ramaphosa made the remarks while meeting Putin in St. Petersburg on Saturday as part of a peace mission with six other African countries.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the delegation on Friday that he would not enter into talks with Russia during its occupation of Ukrainian territory.

Putin launched the invasion last year and blamed Ukraine for refusing to talk.

At the meeting in St. Petersburg, Mr. Ramaphosa called on both sides to return prisoners of war, and said that children taken away by Russia should be returned home.

As the African delegation called for the children to be returned to their families, Mr. Putin interrupted their conversation and claimed that Russia was protecting them.

“Children are sacred. We have moved them out of the conflict zone, saving their lives and health,” he said. The United Nations said it had evidence of the illegal transfer of hundreds of Ukrainian children to Russia.

Ramaphosa also warned Putin about the effects of the war on Africa, and said it must be resolved through diplomacy.

“War cannot go on forever. All wars must be resolved and ended at some point,” he said. “And we’re here to send a very clear message that we want this war to end.”

The war severely limited the export of grain from Ukraine and fertilizers from Russia, which affected African countries in particular and increased global food insecurity.

But Putin blamed the West for the grain crisis – not the war in Ukraine – as he said only 3% of grain exports allowed under a UN-brokered deal to guarantee their safe passage through the Black Sea had gone to the world’s poorest country. .

He also praised what he described as Africa’s balanced stance on the war.

The African delegation made up of representatives from South Africa, Egypt, Senegal, Congo-Brazzaville, Comoros, Zambia and Uganda was tailor-made for breadth and balance, with members from different parts of Africa having different views on the conflict.

South Africa and Uganda are seen as leaning towards Russia, while Zambia and Comoros are closer to the west. Egypt, Senegal and Congo-Brazzaville have remained largely neutral.

African countries have seen the conflict primarily as a confrontation between Russia and the West.

The delegation also met with Ukrainian leaders on Friday, with Ramaphosa warning that the war in Europe is affecting between 1.2 and 1.3 billion people in Africa.

After the leaders landed, sirens sounded across Ukraine’s capital Kiev, which Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said showed Mr Putin wanted “more war”.

During their meeting, Mr. Zelensky told the delegation that an “important outcome of your mission” would be to broker the release of political prisoners held by Russia.

The meeting comes amid rising tensions between both Russia and Ukraine, as Ukraine launches its counter-offensive near the Bakhmut region.

Russia claimed that the counterattack failed, but Kiev said it had regained about 100 square kilometers of territory on its southern front.