South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a phone call, where they discussed the upcoming BRICS summit and the ongoing Ukraine conflict.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia issued a statement on Wednesday, revealing that President Putin had a phone call with his counterpart.

"Issues related to the well-known African initiative to find ways to resolve the Ukrainian conflict were also discussed, and it was agreed that Vladimir Putin would soon receive a delegation of a number of African heads of state," the statement mentioned, Mail&Guardian reported.

The statement came after Ramaphosa revealed on Tuesday that he will be visiting Ukraine and Russia in the coming weeks alongside six other African heads to seek peace amid the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Along with Ramaphosa, the President of the Comoros Islands and current head of the African Union, Azali Assoumani; the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi; the President of Senegal, Macky Sall; the President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni; and the President of Zambia, Hakainde Hichilema, will be visiting Russia and Ukraine capitals - Kyiv and Moscow.

President Ramaphosa disclosed that he met all the African leaders on Monday and they spoke about their "peace mission."

"The first thing that we discussed among ourselves is that we want to listen to both sides," he said. "They need to outline to us their own perspective on the war as well as what are their minimum requirements for bringing the conflict to an end."

Russia and Ukraine conflict has so far killed more than 62,000 people and injured more than 60,000 people while at least 15,000 people are missing.

Countries like South Africa and China have taken a neutral stance on the war.

Whereas, the United States and the United Kingdom support Ukraine. In fact, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against Putin on March 18 and expects South Africa to arrest him if he steps into the country for the upcoming BRICS summit in August.

Moreover, South Africa is under pressure after the United States accused the country of supplying weapons to Russia. In response, President Ramaphosa appointed a panel of three members to investigate the matter.

South Africa and Russia share a diplomatic relationship. Considering the trade between the countries, Russia and South Africa's trade rose by 16.4% last year compared to 2021 as it reached $1.3 billion, as per Russia Briefing.

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