TOP HEADLINES

• South Africa's president Cyril Ramaphosa told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that fighting in Ukraine had to stop as the African delegation continued their push for peace during talks in St Petersburg.

• Africa's set of principles to bring about peace in Kremlin was deemed "very difficult to implement" by the Kremlin, although Vladimir Putin praised the delegation's "balanced" approach.

• Exports of Ukrainian grain under a deal ensuring its safe passage through the Black Sea are not helping to resolve Africa's problems with high global food prices as only 3 percent has gone to the poorest countries, Putin told African leaders.

• Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there appeared to be "no chance" of extending the deal permitting Ukraine to export grain safely across the Black Sea through Russian-controlled waters.

• Ukrainian forces have taken control of the settlement of Piatykhatky on the Zaporizhzhia battle front, a Russian-installed official said on Sunday.

• African states plan to continue their efforts to seek a resolution to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and a ceasefire would pave the way for "serious negotiations", Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said.

•  Ukrainian authorities reported 16 dead and 31 missing from the floods triggered by the destruction of a Russian-held dam, for which Kyiv and Moscow blame each other. 

• The death toll from the floods in Russian-occupied areas of southern Ukraine has risen to 29, a regional official said.

• Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Synehubov revised the death toll from a Russian missile strike on a small Ukrainian village in the east to two people.

• Ukrainian forces destroyed a "significant" ammunition depot near the Russian-occupied port city of Henichesk in the southern region of Kherson, a spokesperson for the Odesa military administration said.

• Russian news agencies reported Ukrainian shelling had killed two people in the Russian-held part of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region, citing an unnamed emergency service representative.

IN DETAIL

Africa push for peace as Kremlin shows caution with plan  

South Africa's president Cyril Ramaphosa told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Saturday that the fighting had to stop in the Ukraine conflict.

The African delegation put forward a set of principles that the Kremlin deemed "very difficult to implement," a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ruled out talks with Moscow.

The delegation, made up of leaders and senior officials from seven African countries, brought the voice of a continent that has badly suffered from repercussions of the conflict, particularly with rising grain prices. 

"This war must be settled, through negotiations and through diplomatic means," Ramaphosa said after talks in the suburbs of St Petersburg, adding they "would like this war to be ended."

Ramaphosa listed 10 principles, which included de-escalation, the recognition of countries' sovereignty, security guarantees for all countries, unimpeded grain exports through the Black Sea and sending prisoners of war and children back to their countries of origin.

The mission included the presidents of South Africa, Senegal, Comoros and Zambia, as well as top officials from Uganda, Egypt and Congo-Brazzaville.

"Any initiative is very difficult to implement," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted by the state-run agency RIA Novosti. "But President Putin has shown interest in considering it."

Putin praised the delegation's "balanced" approach and said he was "open to a constructive dialogue with all those who want to implement peace based on the principles of justice and respect for the parties' legitimate interests."

Moscow has in the past repeated that any negotiations would need to take into account "new territorial realities."

Zelenskyy, speaking on Friday after Ramaphosa called for de-escalation following their talks in Kyiv, repeated his position that Ukraine must recover territories lost to Russia to achieve peace.

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