Poland’s Andrzej Duda hosted the Comoros’ Azali Assoumani, Zambia’s Hakainde Hichilema and South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa at the presidential palace in Warsaw on Thursday, the Rzeczpospolita newspaper reported on its website.
Duda and Assoumani discussed ways to deepen diplomatic and economic cooperation between Poland and the Comoros, the Polish president’s office said.
Another key topic was Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, according to officials.
KPRP/Jakub Szymczuk
The Polish president then held talks with Zambia’s Hichilema, in what was the first-ever meeting between the leaders of the two countries, reporters were told.
Duda and Hichilema discussed bilateral ties in business, society, education and technology, the Polish president’s office said.
They also talked about the continuing war in Ukraine as Kyiv battles the Russian invasion, according to officials.
The Polish president also hosted his South African counterpart for talks on the situation in Ukraine and Russian war crimes, officials told reporters.
Duda and Ramaphosa discussed support for Ukraine’s war effort against the Russian invasion and an African peace mission that was due to visit Ukraine and Russia later in the week, according to news outlets.
KPRP/Jakub Szymczuk
During Thursday's talks, Duda outlined "the Polish perspective on Russia's aggression in Ukraine," his office said.
The Polish president underlined that "the world must be united in opposition to Russia's brutal aggression against Ukraine and in defence of international law," according to officials.
African leaders to visit Ukraine, Russia
A delegation of African leaders, including South Africa’s Ramaphosa, Senegal’s Macky Sall, the Comoros’ Assoumani and Zambia’s Hichilema, was due to travel to Kyiv on Friday and St. Petersburg on Saturday, the Reuters news agency reported.
The African delegation was expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to officials.
African leaders could propose a series of "confidence building measures," as part of their initial efforts to mediate in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the Reuters news agency reported.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
Thursday is day 477 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
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Source: prezydent.pl, rp.pl, Reuters