Ghana president says Africa 'greatest victim' of Russian invasion's consequences outside Europe

President of Ghana Nana Akufo-Addo attends a joint press conference after the Summit on Peace in Ukraine in Burgenstock, Switzerland on June 16, 2024. (Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo spoke about how Russia’s invasion has decreased food security in poorer countries in his closing statement at Ukraine’s peace summit in Switzerland.

“The consequences of the invasion go far beyond the confines of Europe. Indeed in many ways, Africa has been the greatest victim,” he said in his remarks.

He called for Russia and China to join in the talks process, “if we’re ever going to arrive at a definitive settlement."

Akufo-Addo said that Ghana opposes "great power hegemony and the bullying of small states by big powers. It is in this context that we view and continue to view Russia's invasion and acts of aggression."

Eighty countries, including Ukraine, and four European institutions signed the final joint communique of the Switzerland peace summit on June 16, according to a Kyiv Independent reporter on the ground. Over 100 countries and organizations were present at the summit.

The countries notably absent from the list of signatories include India, Armenia, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Indonesia, Bahrain, Colombia, South Africa, Thailand, Mexico, and the United Arab Emirates.

Beijing did not send representatives. Zelensky called on China to join in developing the peace proposals.

“China could help us,” Zelensky told reporters, adding that though it had close ties with the Kremlin, “Ukraine never said that China is our enemy. I always say that Ukraine has only one enemy: Putin.”

Throughout the full-scale invasion, sales of oil and other hydrocarbons to China and India have become the primary source of funds for Russia’s state budget and war effort.