African Union calls for "lasting ceasefire" in Ukraine in call with Putin

DAKAR, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Senegalese President and current Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Macky Sall on Wednesday held a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on securing a "lasting ceasefire" in Ukraine.

Sall later said in a tweet that as president of the AU, he is delighted about his talk with Putin "to press for a lasting ceasefire."

He also welcomed the "listening" and "willingness" of his Russian counterpart "to maintain dialogue for a negotiated solution to the conflict."

The Senegalese president had expressed last week in the Council of Ministers his grave concern about the situation in Ukraine while reaffirming Senegal's adherence to the principles of non-alignment and peaceful settlement of disputes.

In a statement issued on Feb. 24, Sall and AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat urged Russia and Ukraine to establish an immediate ceasefire and open political negotiations under the aegis of the United Nations.

For his part, Putin briefed Sall on Russia's military operation in Ukraine at the latter's request, emphasizing the humanitarian situation, the Kremlin said in a statement.

According to the statement, Putin stressed that "Russian military personnel take every possible measure to safely evacuate foreign citizens."