African leaders in Russia to discuss peace in Ukraine

After traveling to Ukraine on Friday, a delegation of African leaders arrived in Russia on Saturday on a self-styled peace mission.

Seven African leaders, including the presidents of the Comoros, Senegal , South Africa and Zambia , as well as Egypt’s prime minister and top envoys from the Republic of Congo and Uganda - travelled to St. Petersburg to meet with Russia's President Vladimir Putin who attended a business forum in Russia's second-largest city.

The mission to Ukraine and Russia , the first of its kind by African leaders, comes in the wake of other peace initiatives such as one by China , and it carried particular importance for Africa that relies on food and fertilizer deliveries from Russia and Ukraine , whose war has blocked exports from one of the world’s most important breadbaskets.

Many African nations have long had close ties with Moscow , dating back to the Cold War when the Soviet Union supported their anti-colonial struggles.