The President of the Republic "has offered his personal contribution and that of Mozambique to whatever Russia deems necessary to achieve peace and end the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine," said the Minister of Public Works.

Carlos Mesquita revealed at a press conference, alongside Lavrov, the positions taken at the meeting between the Mozambican head of state and the head of Russian diplomacy.

Nyusi's willingness comes after, five days ago, in other words, he made the same statement to the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba.

At the time, Filipe Nyusi used the social network Facebook to declare "openness to help bring the two parties closer together, including hosting a dialogue on national territory, with a view to achieving peace in Ukraine".

Both Kuleba and Lavrov invited Nyusi to visit their respective countries, and in the case of Russia, the head of diplomacy has already set a date: he said that a meeting between the Mozambican President and Putin is planned on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa summit to be held from July 26 to 29 in St. Petersburg.

Mozambique has been one of the countries that has remained neutral in the face of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the war, thus considering itself in a better position to call for a dialogue to end the conflict, a message it has been sending from its position as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, a two-year term that began in January.

Russia and Ukraine have reacted by saying that they respect Maputo's position.

"Neutrality can take different forms," but at the meetings in Maputo, "I felt strong sympathy and support - which is not neutral, it's in favor of Ukraine," said Dmytro Kuleba last week, quoted by Lusa.

For his part, the Russian foreign minister said yesterday that he appreciated the fact that "Mozambique has its own position" in the face of what he described as "blackmail" from Western partners.

Nyusi's position is in line with that of other African heads of state.

South African President Ciryl Ramaphosa and five other heads of state from the continent will travel to Russia and Ukraine in June to try to start peace talks between the two warring nations, a senior South African government official said last week.