The President of Senegal announced this Sunday that he will travel to Russia and Ukraine on behalf of the African Union, which he currently leads, following an invitation from Moscow and an expressed desire by the President of Ukraine to contact African leaders.
Macky Sall said at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that he had received a mandate from the African Union to travel. He added that Russia had sent a corresponding invitation. The trip, originally scheduled for May 18, could not take place “for scheduling reasons”.and therefore proposed new dates, said the President of Senegal.
“As soon as it is resolved, I will naturally go to Moscow, as well as Kyiv, and we also agreed to meet with all the heads of state of the African Union, who, of course, with the president. [ucraniano, Volodymyr] Zelensky, who stated the need to communicate with the heads of African states,” said Maki Sall.
This will also happen in the coming weeks,” he added.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has divided African countries and also hit their economies hard, for example due to rising grain prices and fuel shortages.
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Senegal, which has strong relations with Western countries, surprised on March 2 by abstentions in the UN General Assembly vote in favor of a resolution that demanded that “Russia immediately cease the use of force against Ukraine.”
Senegal, on March 24, voted for a second resolution demanding an immediate end to the war from Russia. In both cases, almost half of the African countries abstained or did not vote.
