South Africa’s ruling African National Congress, (ANC), is hosting meetings with members of political parties from Brazil, Russia, India, China and others ahead of the BRICS Summit on August 22nd in Johannesburg.

The conflict in Ukraine remains one of the main topics in everyone’s minds.

“We are for the silencing of the guns in Ukraine, the achievement of genuine peace and the peaceful coexistence between Russia, Ukraine and the neighbourhood”. (…) “We are fully behind the African peace initiative led by President Cyril Ramaphosa and the seven other African heads of states and government, to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, by initiating dialogue between President Vladimir Putin and President Zelenskyy“, said Paul Mashatile, South African Deputy President & Deputy President of ANC.

Delegates of Russia’s Communist Party accuse the west of wanting to prolong the conflict.

“We do not want the war, however those who actually stands behind Zelenskyy regime, the USA and western countries, do not want peace. They are doing everything to derail negotiations”, accused Artem Prokofiev, Communist Party of the Russian Federation representative.

It is not yet clear if Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend next month’s summit of the BRICS emerging economies.

South Africa is trying to persuade Putin to stay away to avoid the legal and diplomatic fallout over his international arrest warrant, South Africa’s deputy president said in an interview with a news website last week.