Moscow feels uncomfortable as the first phase of the Ukrainian counter-offensive begins. Then, in order to somehow switch over, the Kremlin asked its African friends to come up with a peace initiative (before that there was the initiative of Viktor Orban, then China, then Indonesia), which would divert attention from the battlefield, and possibly drag Ukraine into some then unnecessary negotiations.
Another goal was to slightly strengthen the international presence at the annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. The vast majority of countries, including many that favor Moscow, rejected the possibility of the arrival of the top leadership of their states.
So the forum could lose its international status, turning into an internal Russian one. And now the highest representatives of six African countries came ostensibly for peace talks, but they also supported the Kremlin so that this forum would not be interpreted by some organizations as not at all international. Thus, Moscow, as it were, initiated some kind of peace initiative for Africa and used it for its own purposes.
Whether the African leaders who asked Kyiv to receive them before the St. Petersburg Forum knew about all this, no one will openly tell you. This initiative was supported by China, which has a huge influence on the African continent. The Chinese peace plan failed as an absolutely frivolous attempt to resolve issues of war and peace in Ukraine. African leaders, like Beijing, did not even dare to call it a war, and it is the largest since 1945.
The fact that this delegation played on the field of Moscow even testifies that none of the African leaders dared to somehow condemn the Russian missile attack on Kyiv during their official stay in Ukraine and its capital. The President of the Republic of South Africa, Ramophosa, only said that these rocket attacks were the only thing that determined in his mind that an urgent peaceful solution was needed for both sides.
Thus, on the orders of the head of the Kremlin, Russia is bombarding the territory of the UN founding country with deadly missiles, and the African delegation remains committed to the removal of the International Criminal Court's indictment against Putin for crimes committed and the relaxation of international sanctions against Moscow.
The head of the press service of the President of South Africa said that he personally did not hear the roar of destroyed Russian missiles. He did not even thank the Ukrainian side, which destroyed all of Russia's latest Kalibr cruise missiles and six very dangerous Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, which Moscow considers indestructible.
Maybe if the Ukrainian missile defense were to fail, then this communicator with the public would hear not only the sound of these missiles, but also their impact. Then, if he had survived, he would have spoken more thoughtfully and given a real assessment of Russia's insidious attack and missile attack on Kyiv.
When a delegation of African diplomatic mediators arrived in St. Petersburg, they listened to a lecture from Putin about who is to blame for these bloody events. The head of the Kremlin did not even want to listen to the end of what the African leaders were offering, perhaps because he himself came up with this peace plan for them and he was terribly tired of listening to it again as some kind of international proposal.
A few minutes after the presentation of his position by the President of South Africa on behalf of all members of the African delegation, Putin interrupted him and began to give advice to his colleagues at the meeting. The leader of the Kremlin pack said that Ukraine started this war back in 2014, and Russia used only Article 51 of the UN Charter on the right to self-defense.
This Moscow political pinocchio began to sell lies about some kind of self-determination of the population of Donbass and Crimea, which for some reason he called the people and, allegedly, therefore, Russia had to support them. Ukraine allegedly deceived the decent Russian Federation with the West with some kind of Minsk agreements and eventually attacked Russia again in 2022. As for the theft of Ukrainian children by the Russian side, this is a lie, since it was a humanitarian rescue operation.
At the same time, Putin said that he fully supported the peace plan of African countries, although he did not say a word about Moscow's readiness to withdraw its army from the territory of Ukraine, which this plan provides for. The return of the stolen children also does not make sense, since this is a humanitarian action, and as for the withdrawal of tactical nuclear weapons from the territory of Belarus, which is an important point of the proposed plan, nothing was said in response.
It was only during the St. Petersburg forum that Vladimir Putin said that Russia had begun transporting the first nuclear elements to the territory of Belarus and, if necessary, could use nuclear weapons, although it did not want to do so.
What sounded in the position of the Kremlin? Ukraine is an aggressor country, Russia is defending itself from Kyiv and the collective West. For stealing other people's children, Putin should receive an order, not an arrest warrant. The high African delegation swallowed all this nonsense and optimistically left to "continue its peace initiative."
The Kremlin pretended to support the African initiative and angrily denounced Kiev, which allegedly did not provide support, when Putin actually said everything the opposite was offered by the African presidents, plus the statement by Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov that he allegedly supports the African peace plan , but Ukraine must face the new reality and understand that its five temporarily occupied regions are now the territory of the Russian Federation.
How do you like Moscow's attitude to the African peace plan, in the shadow of which China? Thus, the liar Sergei Lavrov and the biggest liar Vladimir Putin have actually dotted the i's. To make it even funnier, at the same St. Petersburg forum, Putin stated that Russian Kinzhal missiles allegedly destroyed five Patriot complexes, while Ukraine has only two of them, which still stand intact, guarding the peaceful Ukrainian sky.
This is how Putin encourages Russian society, manipulates African leaders, accuses Ukraine and Western countries of starting a bloody war. But only the question remains for Beijing, how they evaluate this dirty game of the Kremlin. The Chinese Embassy in Ukraine definitely heard about the Russian missile attack on Kyiv on the day of the visit of the African delegation, which arrived in search of peace and de-escalation, but was bombarded with the most modern and deadly Russian missiles.
As a result, we have an African diplomatic dance to the Russian balalaika and St. Petersburg drums. Perhaps soon we will see or hear whether there will be Chinese applause for this action or a whistle, but really, probably nothing. Beijing likes to work in silence.
