South African president unveils 10-element African initiative on Ukraine

ST. PETERSBURG. June 19 (Interfax) - The African proposals on Ukraine are built upon ten elements, these should not compete with the ideas of other players, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Seven African states put forward an initiative in search of peace, it is peace we are looking for. We would like to try and mediate a peace between Russia and Ukraine in this conflict, we would like to offer you ten points," Ramaphosa said at Putin's meeting with African leaders in St. Petersburg on Saturday.

The leaders would like to hear the Russian president's position, just as they did that of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky the day before, he said.

The proponents also acknowledge other ideas "which were put forward by a number of big global players. Our proposals should not compete with the other proposals that have been put forward," Ramaphosa said.

This fighting cannot go on forever, he said. "We are here today in order to send you a very clear message: we want this war to be over," the South African leader said.

The situation had a negative effect on African economies, causing hikes in energy, fertilizer and food prices, he said.

"It would be in our shared interest to end this war [...] We would like to see this conflict de-escalated on both sides, because an escalation is not conducive to peace talks," Ramaphosa said.