Kyiv [Ukraine], August 24 : Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday spoke with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and told him that he is ready to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
During the call, Zelenskyy also spoke about opportunities for joint work with Africa and said the Global South must send "relevant signals" in favour of peace.
In a post on X, he said, "I spoke with President of the Republic of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, at his request. I informed about the joint diplomatic efforts with our partners and the productive meetings with President Trump in Washington."
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"I reaffirmed my readiness for any format of meeting with the head of Russia. However, we see that Moscow is once again trying to drag everything out even further. It is important that the Global South sends relevant signals and pushes Russia toward peace," he added.
Zelenskyy also appreciated the solidarity of the Baltic states with Ukraine against its conflict with Russia. He affirmed that Ukraine with its allies will bring peace to the European continent.
In a post on X, he said, "We remember the longing for freedom that Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian people demonstrated with the Baltic Way. We honor the unity these nations showed in defending their right to freedom and independence."
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"And today we highly appreciate the genuine solidarity of the Baltic states, in the face of dumb Russian imperialism. Just as you have, we are defending the right of our state and our people to independent life, and against the Russian attempt to subjugate us. Together we will return durable peace and uphold human dignity on the European continent," he added.
Earlier in the day, Zelenskyy spoke to Prime Minister of the Netherlands Dick Schoof on the occasion of National Flag Day in Ukraine and apprised him of the talks in Washington.
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Meanwhile, United States President Donald Trump renewed a threat on Friday to impose sanctions on Russia if there is no progress towards a peaceful settlement in Ukraine in two weeks, showing frustration at Moscow a week after his warm meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said there is no agenda for a potential summit between Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whom he accused of saying "no to everything", as per Al Jazeera.