Warsaw, Poland: The travel difficulties that have been experienced by the additional security team from South Africa in Warsaw, Poland, is not a cause for concern, says Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya.
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson said this after an additional security team that was meant to travel to the Ukrainian capital city Kyiv was delayed due to logistical and bureaucracy challenges.
“There are already teams deployed on the ground that have conducted a security threat assessment and have given President Ramaphosa the green light to travel to Kyiv.
“The African Leaders Peace Mission is an unprecedented and historical moment. It’s the first time that the continent has united behind an attempt towards finding a resolution to a conflict outside the African continent. It’s also the first time that a group of African Heads of State and government have travelled together on a peace mission,” Magwenya told SAnews on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, President Ramaphosa paid a courtesy visit to Polish President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw, ahead of the African Peace Initiative Mission.
President Ramaphosa along with the Presidents of Zambia, Senegal and the Comoros are proceeding to Ukraine by train for deliberations on Friday with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The Presidents of Congo Brazzaville, Egypt and Uganda have sent their representatives for the mission.
The African countries are representatives of a continent that has felt the adverse economic impact of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Later tomorrow, the African leaders will leave Kyiv for St Petersburg, Russia, where the African delegation will engage with President Putin on Saturday, 17 June.
Source: South African Government News Agency