Egypt’s PM embarks on visit to Kiev, St. Petersburg on African mission to settle Ukraine crisis

CAIRO – 15 June 2023: Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Mabdouly has embarked on a visit to each of Kiev and St. Petersburg as part of a joint African initiative to settle the Russian-Ukrainian crisis.

Madbouly departed Cairo on Thursday to lead Egypt’s delegation on behalf of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and along with Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry.

The joint African initiative includes presidents of South Africa, Senegal, Comoros, Uganda and Zambia, a representative from the Republic of the Congo as well as Egypt.

Last month, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, have agreed to consider an African peace plan to put an end to the war in Ukraine.

Earlier in June, Sisi expressed hope for the African initiative to mediate in the Russian-Ukrainian crisis to help settle the conflict, stressing the “balanced approach” that Egypt has adopted toward the crisis since its outbreak.

Sisi made the remarks in a meeting that brought together the leaders of the six aforementioned countries to discuss the African initiative to settle the crisis that broke out in February 2022.

During the meeting, the president stressed that Egypt will spare no effort to help contain the crisis in Ukraine and overcome consequences at the political, humanitarian and economic levels.

Sisi affirmed the necessity to respect international law and prioritize dialogue in order to peacefully settle disputes.

The Egyptian president called for mobilizing global efforts to reach a solution that takes into consideration all parties and attain international peace and security.