InterOuts

Peace in Ukraine via Africa

UPDATE 06/17/2023

The Polish Government kept the South African delegation including President Cyril Ramaphosa on their plane which landed in Poland before going on to Kiev. His security team were not allowed to accompany him. Clear, blatant racism by Poland and against all International protocols and Legal agreements governing Diplomats and Heads of State. On Friday 16th of June, the members of the Peace Initiative met with President Zelensky of Ukraine who categorically refused to enter into discussions and negated the whole proces, a process he had previously agreed to enter in. The members of the African Initiative met with President Putin of Russia on Saturday, 17th of June to continue the work that had already been agrreed and formulated.

Ukraine has recently courted several of Africa’s nations and as the only African BRICs member, South Africa in particular when Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Dimitro Kuleba toured the continent last year. This was in order to garner support for Ukraine’s position in the Conflict and support for sanctions against Russia that the west implemented. Included was the need to persuade them to proceed with their task of formulating a peace proposal between Russia and Ukraine from the starting point of Ukranian President Zelensky’s demands and conditions regarding the matter. The reasoning behind Ukraine’s wooing of Africa was that pro Ukrainian stance was necessary in response to the perceived pro Russian stance of many African nations who refused to implement sanctions against Russia or vote in the United Nations alongside the western bloc’s condemnation of Russia’s Special operation in Ukraine. Many African nations have taken a neutral stance regarding the whole issue openly saying it was not their affair. The Peace Initiative was publicly tabled regarding the African Union’s (AU) offer to mediate and propose a peaceful workable solution to the Ukrainian War as reported by Reuters The South China Morning Post reported that both President Putin and Zelensky had agreed to meet the contingent from Africa seperately in Moscow and Kiev thus assuring a further peace initiative was tabled alongside the earlier one proposed by China.

The decision that had been taken by the leaders of six African nations to intercede in the Ukraine Conflict by presenting a Peace Initiative was put into motion with the announcement that they will travel to Moscow to meet President Putin and Kiev to meet with President Zelensky in the middle of June. A meeting was held on Monday the 5th of June in Pretoria, South Africa and chaired by the Chairperson of the African Union, the President of the Commores, Azali Assoumani with the six leaders of South Africa, Uganda, Egypt, Senegal, the Republic of Congo and Zambia and was the culmination of discussions and exchanges between them held over a long period. The President of Uganda Yoweri Museveni in the meeting stated that the African perspective gained solving problems like those that occurred in South Africa (Apartheid), the Congo and Somalia would be of great help in finding a permanent solution to the ongoing crisis. In a statement issued after the meeting ‘the leaders agreed that they would engage with both President Putin and President Zelensky on the elements for a ceasefire and a lasting peace in the region’ and tasked the Foreign Ministers of the participating nations to finalise the details. Also attending the vurtual meeting were Macky Sall of Senegal, Abdel Fatteh el-Sisi of Egypt, Dennis Sassou Nguesso of Congo Brazaville and Haikende Hichilema of Zambia, all of whom participated in the process of reaching agreement.

This came on the heels of the BRICS meeting in CapeTown , South Africa, held on the 1st of June attended by the Foreign Ministers of Russia (Sergei Lavrov), India ( Subramanyam Jaishankar), Brazil (Mauro Veira), China (Qin Gang ) and their host from South Africa (Naledi Pandor ) where they issued a statement calling for the Peace Process to be iniated so as to end the conflict in Ukraine. This meeting rattled the USA in particular but also the western bloc (The UK, EU, Japan ) as it was in some ways the precursor for the BRICs meeting to be held in CapeTown in August of this year. The much deliberated and considered concept of a BRICs based Reserve Currency will be finalised and the commencement of implementation will be the main focus of the meeting in August with the added question of the admittance of new members taking a close second place. Since these members include Saudi Arabia, the BRICs would have 2 out of the 3 largest Oil producers globally in their ranks, Russia being the other one (the USA is the 3rd). For the Dollar to continue its role as the World’s Reserve Currency, this is tantamount to committing suicide. To this end and in order to influence South Africa’s position regarding Ukraine (it is seen by the west to be pro Russia), a campaign to villify South Africa and bring it back into the camp was initiated by the USA via MSM and included EU politicians and local South African Opposition politicians ( capitalising on the opportunity)throwing their weight behind it. So far, only social media have asked how far the USA will go and whether this will include regime change.

The initial announcement of The Peace Initiative was first announced on the 16th of May by South Africa’s President Ramaphosa and received a tepid response with little enthusiasm from the western media. However, there is a further background to the whole concept which anchors it firmly as a balanced and well prepared plausible option. The concept of the Peace Initiative was the brain child of a relatively publicly unknown French businessman, Jean Yves Ollivier whose long term and often intimate knowledge of both African nations, their affairs and the relevant politicians over decades made him a seasoned and astute political player and gained him a position of trust, not easily or often found in political circles. It must be noted that he had the same relationship in France with Jacques Chirac (before he became President of France). To this end, he set up the Brazzaville Foundation to promote accord and peace in Africa as well as the world. Their reputation gained as an unbiased, confidential and trustworthy broker has not been tarnished and they do most of their work ‘under the radar’ before going public. His financial and economic acumen gained through trading primarily in commodities with emerging nations served him well in the political arena. He arranged mediation with a successful outcome several times, ending the South Africa Border War with Namibia (The Brazzaville Protocol), ending the Comoros Coup peacefully, facilitating power sharing in the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) and arranging the first visit in 4 decades by a South African President, F.W.de Klerk to France to meet French President, Francois Mitterand. In regard to the Peace Iniative, Monsieur Ollivier has visited Kiev 4 times to discuss with the Presidency of Volodymyr Zelensky (and the relevant close officials)and Moscow 10 times to meet with Mikhail Bogdanov (the Deputy Foreign Minister for Africa) in just 6 months.

Will the Iniative succeed or be allowed to succeeed? It is far from being a well intentioned but naive attempt to resolve a conflict which impacts globally way beyond its immediate confines. It has behind it the clear cut resolve to staunch the flow of blood on the battlefields and lessen the economic, political and social effects of the continuing War in Ukraine on many of the poorest and most impoverished nations as well as those affected by the supply chain disruptions of sanctions against Russia in all manner of commodities from energy to food. The increasing stridency of the USA’s tone and actions regarding the BRIC’s Alternative Reserve Currency threatening the Dollars status and economic prowess as well as the USA’s primary role in the actual dynamics of the Ukrainian Conflict do not accord with Africa’s offer of mediation and peaceful resolution and the stance of neutrality. The continent is well aware of the hegemonic status of the USA and its ‘allies’ and is viewing this as a clear indication of the West’s continuing paternalistic and colonial attitude to other nations being involved geo-politically contrary to the stated aims of the USA. The possibility of success ultimately lies with the decisions taken by the Ukrainian and Russian Governments but Africa’s help in reaching it, clearly demonstrates the Continent’s readiness to provide assistance and reasoned answers to the issues we all have to deal with on a global basis.