Senegalese Head of state Macky Sall, current chairman of the African Union (AU), met Wednesday with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to “seek a lasting ceasefire” in Ukraine, he announced in a tweet.
“I welcome my meeting this morning with President Putin in my capacity as chairman of the African Union to seek a sustainable ceasefire in Ukraine,” Sall wrote on his Twitter account.
“I welcome his listening and his willingness to maintain the dialogue for a negotiated outcome of the conflict,” he continued.
The African Union had, in a communiqué published on February 24, called on Russia and “any other regional or international actor to imperatively respect international law, territorial integrity and national sovereignty of Ukraine. It had urged Russia and Ukraine for an immediate cease-fire and the opening of negotiations under the aegis of the UN.
On the 28th, it expressed its concern in another communiqué about reports that African nationals fleeing the fighting were being prevented from crossing the border, and judged that such refusals “would be shocking and racist, and would violate international law.
Since then, Senegal, which has strong relations with Western countries, surprised the international community on March 2 by abstaining in a UN General Assembly vote in favour of a resolution that “demands that Russia immediately cease the use of force against Ukraine.
Dakar also signaled its displeasure with Kiev on Thursday, urging it to withdraw a call to fight in Ukraine and stop all recruitment from Senegal, after the announcement that 36 people had been enlisted to help in the war against the Russians.