African Union Commission leader Moussa Faki Mahamat informed Russia on Tuesday that international regulations have to be respected inside the battle in Ukraine and appealed for dialogue to give up the struggle.

Faki, who heads the government branch of the pan-African body, stated on Twitter that he had received a phone name from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov

“I stressed the need to respect international law and urged for dialogue for a peaceful solution to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine,” he said in a post.

His comments came after Lavrov acknowledged that “another phase” of the conflict was beginning as Moscow launched dozens of airstrikes across eastern Ukraine overnight.

The African Union in February was swift to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with Faki and the bloc’s current chair, Senegalese President Maki Sall, saying the situation risked escalating into a “planetary conflict”.

However, many African countries have shown their aid to Russia, or at the least diplomatic ambivalence.

On March 2, individuals of the UN General Assembly voted hugely to condemn the invasion of Ukraine. But out of the 35 nations that abstained, almost half  16  had been in Africa. Eritrea voted in opposition to the decision, even as every other eight African international locations did now not forge votes.