(Seychelles News Agency) - Seychelles strongly supports the call from the leaders of the African Union (AU) and the AU Commission for an immediate ceasefire in the Russia and Ukraine conflict.

The AU’s chair, Senegalese President Macky Sall, and Moussa Faki Mahamat, chair of the African Union Commission, issued a joint statement last week calling for a ceasefire and for both parties to open political negotiations without delay.

Seychelles' foreign minister, Sylvestre Radegonde, shared his government's point of view with a Russian delegation led by Aleksei Gruzdev, the deputy minister of industry and trade, according to a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday.

Radegonde met with the Russian Minister who is in the island nation seeking support for Russia's candidature to host Expo 2030 in Moscow.

Discussions also took place on the situation in Ukraine and Gruzdev explained Moscow's position on the conflict which has gripped the world's attention since last week.

Radegonde said he hopes that the AU’s call will lead to a rapid cessation of hostilities and to a permanent resolution of the conflict.

He added that "as a peace-loving nation and in line with the principles of our country and of peaceful co-existence, Seychelles is firmly opposed to the resolution of conflicts by force and holds that the principles of the UN Charter should be upheld and respected at all times."

Russia launched a military attack on Ukraine last Thursday killing several people. According to the UN refugee agency (UNCHR), over 830,000 people have fled Ukraine since the attack started.

The Seychelles’ foreign minister said that the conflict poses a grave threat to global security and world peace, with serious ramifications for the entire community of nations.

The two sides also exchanged views on matters of bilateral cooperation including tourism.