President Hage Geingob says Namibia's decision not to vote on a motion condemning Russia's military operation in Ukraine is because the country was not consulted.

In March of this year, a special UN General Assembly meeting was held in New York to vote on a motion to "condemn Russia's aggression against Ukraine".

Seventeen African countries, including Namibia, abstained from the vote.

President Geingob called for the de-escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict during a courtesy call by Russia's Charge d'Affaires, Dr. Mikhail Nikitin, at State House.

"We are always grateful to the people of the Soviet Union for the sacrifices they made on behalf of those who were oppressed. We are saying that the conflict that is going on should not be escalated; there should be a way to come to the table to discuss the issues and concerns of Russia and others so that we can have peace. We cannot go on like this. So, as I said, we are very grateful, and that's why we abstained. Whether we were put under pressure to vote and so on, we are saying we were not consulted. Namibia is a small country, but we are also proud. I got a call from Moscow, at least from the former president of Russia, to brief me, not from anyone else. That is why we are saying, thank you very much."

Russia's Charge d'Affaires says his country remains open to talks with Ukraine to find a peaceful and lasting solution.

"From the very beginning of this operation until the end of February, we responded positively to the call by Kiyv to start negotiations. We did that during March and April, and with the support of Turkey, we almost got solutions to an agreed text, but unfortunately the powers in Kiyv received another instruction from the other side. And we did it before, from the moment of the coup in 2014 in Kiyv, for 8 years as our mediator in the Minsk Process, every time there was stress in Donbas and Luhansk. But people received eight years of bombing, shelling, and killings. We had to defend our people and our country. But if they are ready for a peaceful solution, they are flexible, but it is impossible to do it with Kiyv because they want to do it with London and other western sponsors of the Kiyv regime."

The Russian diplomat further handed over an invitation letter from President Vladimir Putin to President Geingob to participate in the Russia-Africa Summit and Economic Forum in June next year.