Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was “ready” on Saturday June 17 for a “constructive dialogue with those who want peace”, during a meeting with African mediators on Ukraine in Saint Petersburg, welcoming their ” balanced approach” to the Ukrainian crisis. The African delegation led by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa had arrived a few hours earlier, having traveled to kyiv the day before.
“We are open to a constructive dialogue with those who want peace based on the principles of justice and taking into account the legitimate interests of the parties,” said Vladimir Putin. The trip of the African delegation, together with the presidents of South Africa, Zambia, Comoros and Senegal, as well as with Congolese, Ugandan and Egyptian representatives, aims to “seek a path to peace after 16 months of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict which caused global instability”.
A “difficult” peace plan to implement
“The war cannot last forever. We want this war to end,” Cyril Ramaphosa told Vladimir Putin on June 17. The day before in Kiev, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had rejected the mediation delegation, denouncing “a deception” by Moscow in the midst of a counter-offensive by its armed forces and once again excluding any negotiation. At the end of the meeting, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov for his part described this African plan as “very difficult to implement”. However, “President Putin has expressed interest in considering it,” he said, quoted by Russian news agencies.
According to Vladimir Putin, “in Russia, we greatly respect the position of African states in favor of maintaining stability, we support their aspiration to a pacifist policy”. He added “appreciating” their interest in finding ways to resolve the Ukrainian conflict, while stressing that “the comprehensive strengthening of ties with the countries of the African continent is a foreign policy priority” of Russia. Another meeting to come, the Russia Africa summit, scheduled for the end of July in Saint Petersburg and for which African leaders and Mr. Putin affirmed on Saturday “their political will to continue the dialogue”, declared Dmitri Peskov.
Dead and missing after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam
Russia on Saturday raised the death toll from flooding in areas it controls in southern Ukraine to 29, following the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam on the Dnieper River last week. For their part, the Ukrainian authorities reported Saturday, June 17, 16 dead and 31 people missing. “Sixteen people died: 14 in the Kherson region and two in the Mykolaiv region. 31 people are still missing,” said the Ukrainian Interior Minister.
Located in an area under Russian control in the Kherson region, this dam was destroyed on June 6. Hundreds of square kilometers downstream were flooded, forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents and raising fears of both a humanitarian and environmental catastrophe. Moscow and kyiv blame each other for this destruction.
60 countries for the reconstruction of Ukraine
Officials from more than 60 countries and hundreds of heads of major global companies are expected in London next week for the second International Conference on Ukraine’s Reconstruction, the British government announced on Saturday. “The reconstruction of the Ukrainian economy is as important as its military strategy”, must in particular affirm the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak at the opening of this event which will be held on Wednesday and Thursday.
Among the personalities expected are the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, the American Secretary of State Antony Blinken or the French Minister of Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna. Volodymyr Zelensky will intervene by videoconference.
More than a year after the start of the war, the World Bank has assessed Ukraine’s immediate needs at $14 billion to repair the damage caused by the fighting. But the recovery of the country’s economy will cost 441 billion dollars according to a recent study by the World Bank, the UN, the European Union and the Ukrainian government. A sum expected to increase with the continuation of the conflict. The challenge of this event is also to mobilize the private sector alongside the major international financial institutions. During the conference, the UK will unveil initiatives in tech and green energy to facilitate cooperation between Ukrainian and British companies.
NATO: Ukraine’s membership will not be “easier”
Ukraine will not receive preferential treatment for its NATO membership process, US President Joe Biden said on Saturday, despite the Russian invasion. Asked by journalists whether he intended to make Kiev’s membership of the Atlantic Alliance “easier”, Mr. Biden said “no”, assuring that Ukraine should “meet all the criteria. So we don’t ‘let’s not make it easy’.
Joe Biden has also called the deployment of the first Russian nuclear warheads in Belarus “totally irresponsible”. This deployment is the result of an agreement announced in March between Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who lent the territory of his country to Russia to attack Ukraine.
Joe Biden’s remarks come ahead of the next annual NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, which will be held on July 11 and 12. Ukraine will not be invited to join the Alliance at this summit, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg already specified on Friday, even though he stressed that Ukraine would become “a member of NATO at some time”. The invitation is the first step in the membership process.