Putin assures African leaders his logic of war flawless and consistent with UN Charter

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin assured the African delegation that his logic of the war against Ukraine is allegedly "flawless" from the point of view of international law and the UN Charter.

Source: Putin, at a meeting with leaders of African countries, according to Russian state-owned news agencies Interfax and TASS

Quote: "It was the Kyiv regime that unleashed this war in 2014. In accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter, we had the right to provide assistance to them [pseudo-republics of Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics – ed.], referring to the section on self-defence. Dear colleagues, this logic, which was set out, in my opinion and the opinion of my colleagues and experts, is flawless from the point of view of international law and the UN Charter. "

Details: According to Putin, Russia allegedly had the right to recognise the "independence" of the occupied regions of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts in accordance with the UN Charter.

"These territories had the right to declare their independence. So, we had the right to recognise them. We did it. And then, having signed an agreement on friendship and interaction with them, we had the right to provide this assistance to them in full accordance with the UN charter," Putin said.

The Russian dictator also reiterated that Ukraine, not Russia, refuses "peace talks."

He even showed African leaders an initial draft agreement with Ukraine, which was being prepared in Istanbul in March 2022.

Putin also lied that Russia was allegedly absolutely legally "transferring" children from Ukraine, and never opposed their reunification with their families.

Before that, during his meeting with Putin, Senegal's President Macky Sall said that a peaceful dialogue between Russia and Ukraine should be built on the principles of the UN Charter.

"Yesterday, we were in Kyiv and gave our message, told President Zelenskyy about our good intentions and listened to him. I noted that the dialogue is not an excluded option, although the conditions were named and among them is compliance with the UN Charter," he said.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa put forward a plan for resolving the war, one of the points of which concerns children deported to Russia. "These children should go back to where they came from – to their homes," Ramaphosa said.

On Saturday, Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa,Macky Sall, President of Senegal, Ghazali Othman, Comoros president, Hakainde Hichilema, President of Zambia, and Mostafa Madbouly, Prime Minister of Egypt, arrived in St. Petersburg to discuss the African "peace initiative" regarding the Russian Federation's war against Ukraine. In addition, the delegation included representatives of Uganda and Congo.

Background: The day before, 16 June, the African delegation visited Kyiv, where it took part in negotiations with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy. 

Zelenskyy criticised the rhetoric of African leaders who call Russia's war against Ukraine a "conflict" or a "crisis".

The president was also surprised that representatives of African countries emphasised their own grain and fertiliser crises, while avoiding to comment on the war in Ukraine – that is, constant Russian missile and artillery attacks, civilian and military deaths, ecocide, etc.

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