Egypt’s PM, FM to meet Ukraine’s president Friday as part of African peace mission

CAIRO – 16 June 2023: Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Mabdouly and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry are scheduled to meet with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday as part of an African mission to settle the Russian-Ukrainian crisis.

Madbouli and Shoukry arrived in Kiev early today after a 12-hour train trip from the Polish border as part of the delegation of the joint African initiative that seeks to contribute to settling the crisis, a statement by the Cabinet read.

Madbouli is heading Egypt’s delegation on behalf of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in a visit that will also include Russia.

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

The meeting with Zelensky will see the African delegation presenting the African initiative’s elements to settle the crisis and a press conference will be held thereafter.

Last month, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, 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.