JOHANNESBURG, June 9, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - South Africa said it was open to hosting talks between Russia and Ukraine on Thursday, as Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed an African leaders' peace mission seeking to end the conflict. President Cyril Ramaphosa said last month that Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had both agreed to receive a six-member African peace team. "We must be receptive to the possibility of South Africa hosting the peace summit here," Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, a minister in the president's office, told journalists in Pretoria. The delegation announced by Ramaphosa last month comprises the presidents of the Republic of Congo, Egypt, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia. The peace mission comes as South Africa is looking to burnish its neutrality credentials following accusations that it has drifted towards the Kremlin.

Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha June 09, 2023 06:17 UTC