Putin, African leaders agree to continue dialogue on Ukraine: Kremlin

MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin and leaders of seven African countries involved in a peace mission on Ukraine agreed to continue their dialogue, a Russian official said on Thursday.

"Indeed, the dialogue will continue," Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov told Russia's TASS news agency. "There are no exact dates yet."

South African authorities released on Thursday a joint statement by Putin and the African peace mission following their meeting on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa Summit held in St. Petersburg in late July. The mission, led by South Africa, also includes Comoros, Senegal, Zambia, Egypt, the Republic of Congo and Uganda.

The statement said that the leaders agreed to continue the dialogue, supported lifting sanctions on Russian grain and fertilizer exports and acknowledged the progress made on humanitarian aspects of the initiative.

This was the second round of such talks this summer. The first occurred on June 17, when Putin said Moscow was open to negotiations with Kiev.

In June, the African peace delegation visited Ukraine and Russia and presented a ten-point peace plan that calls for ending the conflict through negotiation and diplomatic means and de-escalating tensions on both sides.