Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has requested to address the African Union, Senegalese President Macky Sall said on Monday.

Sall, the current AU chairman, tweeted that he and Zelensky had discussed over the phone the economic impact of the war in Ukraine and “the need to favor dialogue for a negotiated outcome to the conflict”.

The Ukrainian president also asked to address the AU, Sall said.

The request comes amid a divided African response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

For example, 58 countries abstained from an April 7 vote in the United Nations General Assembly that suspended Russia from the UN Human Rights Council over its invasion.

Africa accounted for 24 of the abstaining countries, which included Senegal. Nine other African countries voted in favor of the resolution, and 9 voted against it.