The first vice-president of the Ukrainian parliament, Oleksandr Korniyenko, is in the Mozambican capital, Maputo, aiming to convince Mozambique to join other countries that condemn the Russian-Ukrainian war.

From the outset, Oleksandr Korniyenko's message was one of total dissatisfaction with Mozambique's neutrality in all three resolutions condemning the war and annexation of Ukrainian regions by Russia, according to the portal "Sapo". Mozambique's most recent abstention in this matter occurred two days ago at the UN general meeting.

"Unfortunately, we note Mozambique's consistent position" of "not voting against resolutions on Ukraine" since 2014, abstaining or not participating in votes. And now, the presence of the first vice president of the Ukrainian parliament aims to reverse the position.

Korniyenko advanced that in his cycle of meetings in Maputo, he will call on his interlocutors to "support Ukrainian initiatives aimed at countering Russian aggression, at the United Nations, in its Security Council, as well as in other international organizations."

"We will continue to need the maximum possible assistance from partners," including "from the African region and especially from Mozambique, which has been elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the period 2023-2024," he noted.

This trip comes after Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba began a tour of African countries last week, which was interrupted on Monday due to the intensifying war.

Korniyenko noted that an "important role in the development of relations between Ukraine and African countries belongs to interparliamentary relations."

"That is why I am here," the Ukrainian parliamentary leader stressed. "We have a lot to talk about with Mozambique," amid relations that are many years old and in which Ukraine has also supported Mozambique, Korniyenko said.

"In particular, during the civil war, Ukraine [then part of the Soviet Union] provided assistance to Mozambique, when many of its soldiers were educated in Ukrainian universities or trained under the leadership of instructors" from that country, he pointed out.

Today, ties with Mozambique go beyond the 50 Ukrainians who now live in the country, he added.

"There is a bank director and a university professor among the Ukrainians in Mozambique," but "there are also Ukrainians of spirit, that is, Mozambicans who once graduated from universities" in Ukraine and today "work in the government and represent the ruling party."

Mozambique was among the countries that abstained on three resolutions that have gone to a vote in the UN General Assembly since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

The first resolution condemned Russia for the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine due to the war, another suspended Moscow from the Human Rights Council, and the third, which was voted on Wednesday, condemned Russia's annexation of Ukrainian territories, reinforcing Moscow's isolation on the international scene.