Macky Sall, Senegalese President and African Union Chairman, is planning to visit Ukraine following talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow last Friday.
Sall told reporters that he intends to visit Ukraine as it contributes to achieving peace between the two countries but he did not disclose further details about when exactly he will head to the invaded nation.
During his talks with Putin on Friday, Sall asked the latter to "become aware that our countries, even if they are far from the theatre (of action), are victims on an economic level" of the conflict.
He said it was important to work together so that "everything that concerns food, grain, fertilizer is actually outside" of Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over Russia's military campaign in Ukraine.
Furthermore, the African President underscored that due to Western sanctions "we no longer have access to grain from Russia and especially fertilizer" which is crucial for Africa's "already deficient" agriculture.
On his part, Putin stressed that Africa’s role in the international arena is growing, affirming that Russia will develop relations with the continent’s states.
“Africa’s political role in the international arena, in general, is growing. We believe that Africa as a whole and its inpidual states, with which we traditionally have very good, without any exaggeration, friendly relations, have great prospects, and on this basis, we intend to further develop our relations with Africa as a whole and with its inpidual states,” he said.
“We are at a new stage of development and attach great importance to our relations with African countries,” the Russian leader added.
Follow the latest news on Google News
