A delegation of African leaders began a peace mission in Kyiv on Friday, hoping their meditation will help end the Russia-Ukraine conflict that has raged since February 2022.

The peace delegation includes leaders from South Africa, Senegal, Zambia, the Comoros and Egypt. They held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday and are due to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on Saturday.

After the meeting in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said that peace talks with Russia would be possible only after Moscow withdraws its forces from Ukrainian territory. 

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa saw talks with Russia as part of the mission, saying one of the main missions of the delegation is to listen, not only to Ukraine, but also Russia and other countries, and leaders had come "to share the African perspective."

He recalled that South Africa's former President Nelson Mandela favored negotiations and that "even when the conflict becomes most intense, that is when peace should be made."

The South African president proposed 10 points in a press release on Friday, saying the conflict must be resolved, peace negotiations must be reached through diplomatic means, all countries' sovereignty and security must be respected and guaranteed, and the smooth flow of agricultural products and fertilizers should also be ensured.

With Kyiv and Moscow courting the Global South, the African leaders see a chance to mediate in a crisis that has hit African countries by disrupting grain and other food supplies and aggravating price inflation.

Ramaphosa said African countries were prepared to participate further in a peace pact in Ukraine, and called for the free flow of grain and fertilizers. Ukraine is a major global producer and exporter in peacetime.

The Kremlin has said that it is ready to listen and is open to outside initiatives, but they didn't see conditions for a peace process in place as the West is trying to seek gains on the battleground by providing Ukraine more military aid. 

Putin said on Friday that a peaceful settlement of the crisis is the best option for the West, but it hasn't been taken because the crisis is beneficial for the West as it can act as an excuse to cover up their policy mistakes in areas such as energy and finance that have led to soaring inflation in Western countries.

The African delegation's visit to Kyiv and Moscow happened as Germany held the largest deployment exercise of air forces since NATO was formed, named The Air Defender 23 drill. It took place on June 12 and will last until June 23. The joint drill involves 10,000 participants and 250 aircraft from 25 nations.

The exercise has triggered demonstrations in Germany. Hundreds of people demonstrated in front of the Wunstorf air base in the Hanover area last Saturday, with some attendees holding banners reading, "Down with weapons! No to war! Disarmament now!"

Protesters are concerned that the exercise will send the wrong signal to the outside world, especially Russia, and may escalate the ongoing Ukraine crisis. They called for diplomatic solutions to the crisis and a ceasefire.

Jose Luis Centella, president of the Communist Party of Spain, on Thursday told China Media Group (CMG) that NATO's military exercises are intensifying the Russia-Ukraine crisis, and peaceful negotiations are the only way to resolve the conflict.

"Only the U.S. says that NATO is keeping the peace, but in fact, NATO is more about creating conflict. There is no military solution to the Ukraine crisis, and the only way is through peace talks within the framework of the UN, so the European Union must stop sending arms to Ukraine," Centella said.

(With input from Reuters)