AU urges ceasefire in Ukraine in call with Putin

Senegalese President and current Chairperson of the African Union (AU), Macky Sall, on Wednesday held a phone conversation with Russian President, Vladimir Putin, on securing a lasting ceasefire in Ukraine.

Sall later said in a tweet that as president of the AU, he is delighted about his talk with Putin to press for a lasting ceasefire.

He also welcomed the listening and willingness of his Russian counterpart to maintain dialogue for a negotiated solution to the conflict.

The Senegalese president had expressed last week in the Council of Ministers his grave concern about the situation in Ukraine while reaffirming Senegal’s adherence to the principles of non-alignment and peaceful settlement of disputes.

In a statement issued on Feb. 24, Sall and AU Commission Chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat, urged Russia and Ukraine to establish an immediate ceasefire and open political negotiations under the aegis of the UN.

From his part, Putin briefed Sall on Russia’s military operation in Ukraine at the latter’s request, emphasising the humanitarian situation, the Kremlin said in a statement.

According to the statement, Putin stressed that “Russian military personnel took every possible measure to safely evacuate foreign citizens.”