Algerian Prime Minister Aymen Benabderrahmane (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands before an official ceremony to welcome the leaders of delegations to the Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, July 27, 2023. (PHOTO / TASS / POOL / AP)

MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin and leaders of seven African countries involved in a peace mission on Ukraine agreed to continue their dialogue, a Russian official said on Thursday.

"Indeed, the dialogue will continue," Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov told Russia's TASS news agency. "There are no exact dates yet."

South African authorities released on Thursday a joint statement by Putin and the African peace mission following their meeting on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa Summit held in St. Petersburg in late July

South African authorities released on Thursday a joint statement by Putin and the African peace mission following their meeting on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa Summit held in St. Petersburg in late July. The mission, led by South Africa, also includes Comoros, Senegal, Zambia, Egypt, the Republic of Congo and Uganda.

The statement said that the leaders agreed to continue the dialogue, supported lifting sanctions on Russian grain and fertilizer exports and acknowledged the progress made on humanitarian aspects of the initiative.

This was the second round of such talks this summer. The first occurred on June 17, when Putin said Moscow was open to negotiations with Kyiv.

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The Russian Defense Ministry said Friday that two Ukrainian unmanned boats attempted to attack the Russian naval base in Novorossiysk, a major Black Sea port, but were destroyed by Russian ships.

"Tonight, the Ukrainian armed forces attempted to attack the Novorossiysk naval base with two unmanned sea boats. During the repulsion of the attack, the unmanned boats were visually detected and destroyed by fire from the standard weapons of the Russian ships," the ministry said.

The Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which loads oil onto tankers in Novorossiysk, said its infrastructure was not damaged by the attack and the oil loading is going on as usual.

A temporary ban on ship movements in the port has been imposed, it said.

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The consortium has a pipeline system that connects Kazakhstan with a seaport in Novorossiysk, where oil is loaded onto tankers for shipment to world markets.