Support our war crimes investigations unit Support
Skip to content

News Feed

2:56 PM
Moldova's Commission for Emergency Situations decided on June 9 to provide Ukraine with humanitarian aid worth around $230,000 for the "management of the ecological and humanitarian consequences" following Russia's destruction of the Kakhovka dam in Kherson Oblast, the country’s state news agency Moldpres reported.
Want to partner with the Kyiv Independent?
Contact the Tellers Agency to connect your brand with independent media.
Contact
Ukraine Daily
News from
Ukraine in your
inbox
MORE NEWS

watch us on facebook

Edit post

AP: African delegation to discuss Ukrainian grain, Russian fertilizers with Kyiv, Moscow

by The Kyiv Independent news desk May 22, 2023 1:31 PM 2 min read
This audio is created with AI assistance

A delegation of six African leaders set to hold talks with Kyiv and Moscow aims to "initiate a peace process" but also agree on increasing Ukrainian grain exports and easing shipments of Russian fertilizers, a key mediator told the Associated Press.

Presidents of South Africa, Senegal, Egypt, the Republic of Congo, Uganda, and Zambia plan to visit Ukraine and Russia in June on what they position as a peace mission.

According to Jean-Yves Ollivier, an international negotiator who has been working for six months to organize the talks, the leaders also want to discuss possibilities for more prisoner exchanges between Russia and Ukraine.

Ollivier arrived in Moscow on May 21 and will soon head to Kyiv to work out the "logistics" of the upcoming negotiations, the publication wrote. Both President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Kremlin have agreed to host the African delegation.

"We are not dreamers… Unless something happens, I don't think we are going to finish our first mission with a ceasefire," Ollivier told the AP. "It starts with signs. It starts with dialogue. And this is what we are going to try to do."

Russia's all-out war prevented Ukraine, one of the world's top grain suppliers, from exporting agricultural products from its Black Sea ports. Africa has been one of the most affected continents.

On May 17, the Black Sea Grain Initiative, allowing Ukraine to continue exporting its grain amid Russia's full-scale war, was extended for 60 more days. The African leaders would like to see the deal extended further, the mediator said.

The delegation also wants to make it easier for African countries to receive supplies and pay for Russian fertilizers, as Moscow's limited access to SWIFT has complicated such payments. Russian fertilizers have not been subject to international sanctions, but the U.S. and some Western countries have restricted the movements of Russian cargo ships.

"We will need to have a window whereby SWIFT will be authorized for this specific point," Ollivier said in the AP interview.

"That will be on the table, and we hope that in that case, we will gain the support of the Russians for the grains from Ukraine, and we will gain the support of the Ukrainians to find payments and shipments possible for the Russian fertilizer."

Media: South Africa trying to convince Putin not to come due to arrest warrant
South African officials are trying to persuade Russian dictator Vladimir Putin not to come to South Africa for a BRICS summit in August due to the International Criminal Court’s warrant for his arrest, South Africa’s Sunday Times reported on April 30.
Support independent journalism in Ukraine. Join us in this fight.
Freedom can be costly. Both Ukraine and its journalists are paying a high price for their independence. Support independent journalism in its darkest hour. Support us for as little as $1, and it only takes a minute.
visa masterCard americanExpress

Editors' Picks

Support us

Enter your email to subscribe

Please, enter correct email address

Subscribe

* indicates required
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.