The Federal Government has preached peace on the crisis involving Russia and Ukraine.
According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, the Nigerian government has called on the Russian troops to ‘pull back’ from its ‘aggressive’ attacks on Ukraine.
Onyeama made this known to journalists in Abuja at the weekend after meeting with the envoys from various countries including the United Kingdom and the United States.
The Minister also met with the Ukrainian ambassador to Nigeria, Kirdoda Valerii, and his Russian counterpart, Alexei Shebarshin.
According to him, during the meeting, the Nigerian government preached peace and the use of diplomacy in resolving differences between the two countries.
Onyeama said, “We made it clear that Nigeria does not condone this aggression and urged the Russians to pull back and stop the intervention. We have diplomatic relations with Ukraine. It’s a member of the United Nations, as well as Russia of course.
“We urge that peace be prioritised by the two sides and we are very sad that the diplomatic process that was ongoing before this attack was cut short.
“We support every effort being made to stop the aggression and that the Russian troops return to Russia.
“We recognise the sovereignty of Ukraine and the territorial integrity of Ukraine.”
This Saturday is the third day since Russia invaded Ukraine after its President, Vladimir Putin, in the early hours of Thursday, ordered a military operation on Ukraine.