Highlights: The African peace mission in Ukraine is beginning to take shape. It will start with a visit by six heads of state. The date of the mission has not yet been set, but it is expected to be in June or July. The mission will be led by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. He will be accompanied by two other African leaders, from Senegal and South Africa. It is hoped that the mission will lead to the creation of a peacekeeping force in the region. The U.N. Security Council has approved a resolution to that effect.

The African peace mission in Ukraine is gradually beginning to take shape, with a preparatory visit scheduled from this Sunday, May 21.

The contours of the African peace mission in Ukraine are beginning to take shape

The creator of the Brazzaville Foundation Jean-Yves Ollivier at the United Nations headquarters on May 26, 2015, in New York. © Michael loccisano / Getty Images, via AFP

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The African peace mission in Ukraine is gradually beginning to take shape, with a preparatory visit scheduled from this Sunday, May 21.

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With our correspondent in Johannesburg, Claire Bargelès

As announced by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa this week, Kiev and Moscow have agreed to host a delegation led by the heads of state of Zambia, Senegal, Congo-Brazzaville, Uganda, Egypt, and South Africa. Following this agreement in principle, it now remains to set up the entire mission.

It will start with a preparatory visit starting on Sunday. At the helm was Jean-Yves Ollivier, a French businessman and head of the Brazzaville Foundation, the organization that set up this African mission. He will be accompanied by two emissaries, Senegalese and South African, to "clarify positions" and especially talk about logistics, during a trip that will take them between Russia and Ukraine. Getting six heads of state to travel between the two capitals is no easy task, especially since the visit is expected to last at least four days, according to the Foundation.

The date of this African peace mission has yet to be established. If the South African Ministry of Foreign Affairs now speaks of "the first week of June", in Moscow, Sergei Lavrov, head of Russian diplomacy, evokes rather the "mid/end of June or beginning of July". In any case, it should take place before the Russia-Africa summit scheduled for St. Petersburg at the end of July.

As for the chances of success, which some consider low while attempts at mediation are multiplying, Jean-Yves Ollivier believes that "nothing bad can come out of it" and that "in any case, we will have tried.

In addition, while South Africa is criticized for its ties with Moscow, South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor was able to exchange Friday with his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, during a visit to Portugal.

The contours of the African peace mission in Ukraine are beginning to take shape

The contours of the African peace mission in Ukraine are beginning to take shape

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