Africa: Ukraine Peace Deal Cannot Reward Russia the Aggressor, Cautions French Foreign Minister

Presidency/South Africa
African leaders commemorated the dead at Bucha, Ukraine, where hundreds of civilians were killed by Russian troops early in the war. From left, President Hakainde Hichilema of Zambia, President Macky Sall of Senegal, President Azali Assoumani of the Comoros (and current President of the African Union), President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa and Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli of Egypt. They held talks with both President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine and President Vladimir Putin of Russia during their mission.
18 June 2023
Daily Maverick (Johannesburg)
By Peter Fabricius

Freezing the conflict is not an option, as it would reward the aggressor, Russia, says Catherine Colonna, France's foreign minister.

A peace deal in Ukraine that simply recognised the state of affairs on the ground and was not based on international law would be unsustainable, France's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Europe, Catherine Colonna, cautioned, as President Cyril Ramaphosa and other African leaders returned from their peace mission to Russia and Ukraine.

On the eve of a visit to South Africa, Colonna told Daily Maverick in an email interview that such a peace "would mean accepting the right of the strongest and it would be an illusion, because new conflicts would result from it. Allowing one aggression to be rewarded would risk opening the way to other aggressions, there or elsewhere".

This was the same message the African leaders heard very clearly from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Friday. He dismissed their appeal for "de-escalation" of the conflict while Russian troops remained on Ukrainian soil.

Colonna is arriving in South Africa on Monday to meet her South African counterpart Naledi Pandor for discussions on a wide range of topics, including Russia's war against Ukraine.

Colonna recalled that she had met her "friend" Pandor in Paris last month to discuss the African peace mission and had told her that...

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