The African nation’s foreign minister believes the talks could help resolve the Ukraine conflict
Nigeria welcomes a potential meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, as an opportunity to ease tensions, Sputnik reported on Monday, citing the West African nation’s foreign minister.
Yusuf Tuggar made the comments during an interview on the sidelines of an African Union summit in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, according to the news agency.
“It’s a welcome development. It’s always good to see two leaders – two leaders of global powers – meeting and talking because it provides the opportunity to resolve conflict or tension,” the diplomat stated.
“This is something that I’m sure every well-meaning citizen of the planet would welcome,” he added.
Moscow and Washington have announced plans for Putin and Trump to meet face-to-face after initial talks over the phone last week, during which the two leaders discussed settling the Ukraine conflict. The planned summit is expected to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital.
On Monday, Moscow said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Yury Ushakov, President Putin’s top foreign policy aide, were traveling to Riyadh to meet with American officials to prepare the ground for an upcoming meeting of the two leaders. The talks on Tuesday will also focus on restoring bilateral relations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
Trump vowed throughout his election campaign to quickly resolve the Ukraine conflict if he returns to office. The president has now instructed his special envoy on Russia and Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, to find a solution within the first 100 days of his presidency, after initially promising to end the fighting in “24 hours.” Bloomberg reported on Sunday that the American leader is now pushing for a ceasefire by April 20. Kellogg has also stated that a US peace plan could be unveiled in the near future.
The previous US government and its allies slapped numerous rounds of sanctions on Russia after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022 in a bid to isolate the country, cutting it off from the Western financial system and freezing its foreign reserves.
African countries, which have maintained a non-aligned stance, have since been pressed by their Western partners to take sides against Russia.
In June 2023, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa led a delegation of African leaders to Russia and Ukraine, seeking ceasefire commitments from both sides. Moscow expressed interest in reviewing the mission’s ten-point plan, but Kiev insisted that it will only accept a peace agreement that calls for Russia’s unconditional withdrawal from all territories that Ukraine claims as its own.
