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African Delegation, Including Egypt, Visits Ukraine on Peace Mission

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa looks on before a bilateral meeting as part of the 111th International Labor Conference (ILO) at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, 14 June 2023. EPA/MARTIAL TREZZINI
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa looks on before a bilateral meeting as part of the 111th International Labor Conference (ILO) at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, 14 June 2023. EPA/MARTIAL TREZZINI
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African Delegation, Including Egypt, Visits Ukraine on Peace Mission

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa looks on before a bilateral meeting as part of the 111th International Labor Conference (ILO) at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, 14 June 2023. EPA/MARTIAL TREZZINI
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa looks on before a bilateral meeting as part of the 111th International Labor Conference (ILO) at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, 14 June 2023. EPA/MARTIAL TREZZINI

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa arrived in Ukraine on Friday as part of an African peace mission that includes Egypt, the South African presidency said on Twitter.

Ramaphosa is expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday and then travel to Russia for talks with President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on Saturday.

The South African presidency posted footage of Ramaphosa arriving by train in the Bucha area near Kyiv after travelling via Poland.

Along with Senegal President Macky Sall, Ramaphosa is heading a delegation including leaders from Zambia, the Comoros, and Egypt's prime minister.

The peace mission could propose a series of "confidence building measures" during initial efforts at mediation, according to a draft framework document seen by Reuters.

The document states that the objective of the mission is "to promote the importance of peace and to encourage the parties to agree to a diplomacy-led process of negotiations".

Those measures could include a Russian troop pull-back, removal of tactical nuclear weapons from Belarus, suspension of implementation of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant targeting Putin, and sanctions relief, it indicated.

A cessation of hostilities agreement could follow and would need to be accompanied by negotiations between Russia and the West, the document stated.

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Russia Has Decided 'at Highest Level' to Remove Taliban from Terrorist List

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shakes hands with Acting Foreign Minister of Afghanistan's Taliban movement Amir Khan Muttaqi during a meeting in Moscow, Russia, October 4, 2024. Russian Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERS
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shakes hands with Acting Foreign Minister of Afghanistan's Taliban movement Amir Khan Muttaqi during a meeting in Moscow, Russia, October 4, 2024. Russian Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERS
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Russia Has Decided 'at Highest Level' to Remove Taliban from Terrorist List

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shakes hands with Acting Foreign Minister of Afghanistan's Taliban movement Amir Khan Muttaqi during a meeting in Moscow, Russia, October 4, 2024. Russian Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERS
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shakes hands with Acting Foreign Minister of Afghanistan's Taliban movement Amir Khan Muttaqi during a meeting in Moscow, Russia, October 4, 2024. Russian Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERS

Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Friday that a decision to remove the Taliban from a list of terrorist organizations had been "taken at the highest level", the state TASS news agency reported.
The decision needs to be followed up with various legal procedures in order to make it a reality, President Vladimir Putin's special representative on Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, was quoted as saying.
Putin said in July that Russia considered Afghanistan's Taliban movement an ally in the fight against terrorism.
Russia has been slowly building ties with the Taliban since it seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021 as US-led forces withdrew after 20 years of war but the movement is still officially outlawed in Russia.
No country has formally recognized the Taliban as the country's legitimate leadership.
Russia added the Taliban to its list of terrorist organizations in 2003. Removing it would be an important step by Moscow towards normalizing relations with Afghanistan.
The Taliban's acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said in a speech in Moscow that recent decisions by Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to remove the former insurgents from a list of banned groups was a welcome step.
"We also appreciate the positive remarks by the high-ranking officials of the Russian Federation in this regard and hope to see more effective steps soon," he said.
In separate comments on Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow was convinced of the need to maintain "pragmatic dialogue" with the current Afghan government.
"It is obvious that it is impossible to solve problems or even discuss an Afghan settlement without Kabul," Lavrov said.
"Moscow will continue its course on developing political, trade and economic ties with Kabul," he added, speaking at a meeting in Moscow with Muttaqi and representatives of neighboring countries.
While he did not mention the Taliban by name, he praised the current Afghan leadership for its efforts to curb drug production and fight ISIS, which is outlawed in Russia.
Muttaqi said that countries in the region should cooperate against the ISIS group, which he said had established training centers outside Afghanistan.
Lavrov said the United States should return confiscated assets to Afghanistan and the West should acknowledge responsibility for the post-conflict reconstruction of the country.
Lavrov also called for an increase in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, and said Russia would keep sending it food and essential goods.
Russia has a troubled history in Afghanistan, where the Soviet army invaded in 1979 to support a pro-Moscow government but withdrew 10 years later after sustaining heavy casualties at the hands of fighters.
Russia and its post-Soviet neighbors have suffered recurrent attacks from militant groups linked to Afghanistan - most recently in March, when 145 people were killed in an attack claimed by ISIS at a concert hall near Moscow.