Although it can be concluded that the mediation attempt of African countries in Russia was not very successful, according to political journalist Sophie van Leeuwen. “There is no peace yet, while that was the message that the delegation – led by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa – brought to Russia,” she says. “After all, Africa is suffering a lot from war.”
“Africa suffers greatly from war”
For example, inflation on the continent is extremely high and food prices are skyrocketing. “They just want the war in Ukraine to end, but it hasn’t happened yet.” According to Van Leeuwen, the fact that the African continent has placed itself as a mediator – although it has not succeeded – is exemplary. “It says a lot about the continent’s growing confidence on the world stage,” he says. “Rutte will also come to talk about it tomorrow.”
“Painful Top”
Another topic that will later be discussed is the extremely painful summit that is imminent, says Van Leeuwen. “This is a BRICS summit, which includes Russia, China and South Africa,” he continues. «And Putin might as well come to South Africa for this. While there is an arrest warrant against him from The Hague.’
On the other hand, the BRICS countries have declared that visitors to the summit are “immune”, so any visiting world leader cannot be arrested. This makes the situation complex for Africa, says Van Leeuwen. “They must be friends of the West and Putin,” she continues. “Who knows, they might move the meeting to China, even if it’s still in the air.”