peace mission - The African Mirror

Jun

23

2023

Africa’s peace mission to Ukraine: Brazil, SA leaders talk

NEWS

BRAZILIAN President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said he had discussed the war between Russia and Ukraine and an upcoming BRICS summit with his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa as they met in Paris. Ramaphosa recently led a delegation of African leaders to Russia and Kyiv seeking to share the continent's "perspective on finding peace in Ukraine," but key elements of their peace plan ended up being rebuffed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Lula has also pitched himself as a peace broker to end the war, which began when Russia invaded its neighbour in February 2022. The Brazilian leader irritated Western countries…

African leaders start peace mission in Ukraine despite Russian missile barrage

NEWS

PRESIDENT Volodymyr Zelenskiy said after meeting African leaders in Kyiv that peace talks with Russia would be possible only after Moscow withdraws its forces from occupied Ukrainian territory. His comments signalled no change in Kyiv's long-held stance on peace talks, despite the African delegation's hopes of mediating an end to the war that has raged since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. "To allow any negotiations with Russia now while the occupier is on our land is to freeze the war, to freeze everything: pain and suffering," Zelenskiy told a joint press conference with the African delegation. "We need real…

East Africa’s peace mission in the DRC: why it’s in Burundi’s interest to help

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

BURUNDI was the first country to offer troops to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 2022 as part of East Africa’s peace drive after a wave of attacks from the rebel group known as Mouvement du 23 Mars (M23). Burundi shares a 243km border with the DRC. Most of it runs through the Rusizi/Ruzizi River to the north and Lake Tanganyika to the south. It has been described as one of the most porous borders in Africa’s Great Lakes region. This makes it particularly vulnerable to the spillover effects of conflict from one country into the other. Burundi currently…