Senegalese President Macky Sall, who is also the current chair of the African Union (AU), on Sunday, said he would travel to Russia and Ukraine soon on behalf of the AU, reported Africa News.
During a joint press conference with visiting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Sall said the trip was previously scheduled to take place on May 18 but it didn’t go ahead due to scheduling issues and now new dates have been put forward.
About his trip to Russia and Ukraine, Sall said he said he has received a mandate from the African Union to undertake the trip, for which Russia had extended an invitation. Ukraine’s president had also expressed the need to communicate with African heads of state.
He said Africa was keen to see peace through dialogue between Ukraine and Russia.
“As soon as it’s set, I will go of course to Moscow and also to Kyiv and we have also accepted to get together all the heads of state of the African Union who want to with (Ukrainian) President (Volodymyr) Zelensky, who had expressed the need to communicate with the African heads of state,” the Senegalese president stressed.
Sall said the trip will be done in the coming weeks.
The Senegalese president also said that Senegal was ready to work on supplying liquid natural gas (LNG) to Europe, but that “first we need to be supported in our participation under better conditions than those currently offered by our partners.”
The Russia-Ukraine war has hit African economies hard due to rising cereal prices and fuel shortages. The war has cut off supplies of grain and cooking oil, worsening food insecurity, particularly in poorer African countries due to rising prices.
In early March, the Senegalese government abstained from voting on a United Nations resolution that called on Russia to withdraw from Ukraine. However, a few weeks later it voted in favor of another resolution demanding Russia halt the war.
