TOPACCOLADE NEWS

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has made a refreshing appeal  to speak to African Union (AU) heads of state, according to AU Commission Chai rperson Moussa Faki.

In a tweet, Mr Faki confirmed he acknowledged  the solicitation during a telephone call with Ukraine's foreign minister.

The duo also discussed  about President Zelensky's "wish to develop closer ties with the AU".

Mr Faki didn't divulge even if  the appeal will be accorded but tweeted that he had "insisted on the need for a peaceful solution to the conflict with Russia".

At the begining of the month, President Zelensky held telephone conversation with his Senegalese coequal Macky Sall, the current AU chairman, and requested to speak to African leaders.

African countries overshadowed the list of sovereign states that refrained  from casting votes on a UN decision

 to defer Russia from the UN Human Rights Council.

The pronouncement passed with 93 votes in affirmative, 24 opposed to and 58 abstinence.