The head of Ukrainian diplomacy, Dmytro Kuleba, said that talks on resolving the conflict with Russia cannot simply begin with a ceasefire, British media reports.

- If someone thinks that he can freeze the conflict and then see how he will solve it, then he does not understand the problem, said Kuleba at an online briefing for African journalists after the tour of African countries.

Kuleba emphasized that over 100 rounds of consultations and attempts at a truce with Russia, since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, have led to a full Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

- In the next few days, a delegation of African heads of state plans to visit Ukraine and Russia in the hope of persuading both countries to end the war, said the spokesman of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. The spokesperson said the date of the visit has not yet been fixed.

Such a proposal would mean that Russian forces would remain on Ukrainian territory when negotiations begin.

Ukraine has previously said that Russian forces must withdraw before talks can begin, and Moscow wants Kiev to recognize Russian sovereignty over Crimea as a precondition for talks.

The British media reports that the initiative is led by the president of Senegal, Macky Sall, who was chairman of the African Union last year. His country did not attend the latest UN vote condemning Russia's actions.

The delegation, which includes the presidents of Egypt, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and South Africa, recently included the current chairman of the African Union - the president of Comoros, Othman Ghazali.
Kuleba toured Africa to drum up support, British media recalled, noting that 30 of the 54 African UN member states voted in favor of a UN resolution condemning the Russian invasion.

The Ukrainian foreign minister said that there is currently a "renaissance" of relations between Ukraine and Africa.