The chairman of the African Union (AU), Senegalese President Macky Sall, has warned of mounting pressure to choose sides in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, saying the continent “does not want to be the breeding ground of a new Cold War.”

Sall made the remark in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on Tuesday, following pressure from the United States and its NATO allies on African nations to condemn Russia and impose sanctions on Moscow over its military offensive in Ukraine.

“I have come to say that Africa has suffered enough of the burden of history; that it does not want to be the breeding ground of a new Cold War, but rather a pole of stability and opportunity open to all its partners, on a mutually beneficial basis,” he said.

“We call for a de-escalation and a cessation of hostilities in Ukraine as well as for a negotiated solution to avoid the catastrophic risk of a potentially global conflict,” he added.

Sall further emphasized that Africa is “a continent determined to work with all of its partners” to address its needs, which include access to the basic necessities of modern life, such as electricity, medical care, and running water.

Many African countries depend heavily on grain imports from Russia and Ukraine. African nations collectively imported $12.6 billion worth of Russian goods in 2020, including 30% of all of Africa’s grain imports, as well as fertilizers and petroleum products, all of which have increased in price due to the Ukraine conflict, Western sanctions, and the global problem of inflation.

Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia has said the West’s unilateral anti-Russian sanctions are leading the world to a food crisis of a historic scale.

So far, Africa has stayed rather neutral on Ukraine. Some 25 countries either voted to abstain or did not vote at all on a UN resolution that condemned the war in Ukraine earlier this year.

Meanwhile, South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor has called on the UN to lead “a process of diplomacy” between Moscow and Kiev to bring an end to the conflict.

“We would want a process of diplomacy to be initiated between the two parties and we believe the UN must lead, the UN secretary-general in particular,” Pandor said at the UNGA on Tuesday.

This came as French President Emanuel Macron used his speech at the UN General Assembly to press nations not to stay neutral and condemn Russia’s war in Ukraine.