South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday called on Ukraine and Russia to de-escalate their conflict, as he arrived in the war-torn country on a mission to broker peace.

Ramaphosa is one of a group of African leaders that arrived in the Ukrainian capital earlier on Friday as air raid sirens sounded and explosions were reported in the city.

“This war must be settled and there should be peace through negotiations,” he told reporters after talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“We argue that there must be de-escalation on both sides.”

Culled from France 24