African leaders visit Russia to discuss their peace plan with Putin, after Ukraine trip

Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to host a group of African leaders who have traveled to Russia on a self-styled “peace mission” following a trip to Ukraine. Seven African leaders — presidents of Comoros, Senegal, South Africa and Zambia, as well as Egypt’s prime minister and top envoys from the Republic of Congo and Uganda — visited Ukraine on Friday to try to help end their nearly 16-month-old war. The African leaders traveled to St. Petersburg Saturday to meet with Putin who attended a business forum in Russia’s second-largest city. The mission to Ukraine, the first of its kind by African leaders, comes in the wake of other peace initiatives such as one by China.