President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and five African leaders yesterday discussed a plan to mediate an end to the war in Ukraine ahead of potential meetings with the Russian and Ukrainian presidents later this month, Ittihadiya said yesterday. The leaders of Egypt, South Africa, DR Congo, Senegal, Uganda, and Zambia are planning to travel to Moscow and Kyiv to kickstart a peace process under an initiative announced by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa last month. Jean-Yves Ollivier, an international negotiator who has been working on the initiative for the past six months, told the Associated Press that the talks will likely take place this month. During yesterday’s meeting, El Sisi said that Egypt has sought to remain neutral on the conflict and emphasized the need for the two sides to restart peace talks.

Egypt hosts Hamas, PIJ talks:Leaders of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have agreed to strengthen ties during ongoing reconciliation talks mediated by Egyptian officials in Cairo yesterday, Al Arabiya reports, citing Palestinian sources. The delegations also discussed building on the ceasefire with Israel brokered by Egypt last month as well as improving living conditions in the Gaza Strip.

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