Ramaphosa joins peace talks for Russia and Ukraine war
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa joins other African nations in proposing a new initiative plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war. ALSO READ: Zuma vs Ramaphosa: President seeks to block private prosecution RAMAPHOSA JOINS AFRICAN LEADERS IN PEACE PLAN Ramaphosa said African nations proposed a new initiative to help bring an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine, adding […]
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa joins other African nations in proposing a new initiative plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
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RAMAPHOSA JOINS AFRICAN LEADERS IN PEACE PLAN
Ramaphosa said African nations proposed a new initiative to help bring an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine, adding to a string of foreign offers of mediation and peace talks.
A delegation of African leaders of state plan to travel to Moscow and Kyiv, the Russian and Ukrainian capitals, to present the plan as soon as possible, Ramaphosa said at a joint briefing with visiting Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in Cape Town on Tuesday.
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Zambia, Senegal, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Egypt and South Africa will all be part of the mediation effort.
“This peace mission will contribute to the various other missions to bring a close to this conflict,” Ramaphosa said.
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SOUTH AFRICA’S RELATIONSHIP WITH RUSSIA CALLED INTO QUESTION
Ramaphosa first announced in March 2022 that his government had been asked to “play a mediation role” in the war.
He didn’t identify who made the request, saying only that the approach was based on its relations with Russia and as a member of BRICS, the five-nation bloc that also includes Brazil, India and China.
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South Africa’s stated neutrality in the war has been called into question, with the US last week alleging that it supplied weapons to Russia, and its army chief holding talks in Moscow on Monday with his Russian counterpart about broadening cooperation.
Pretoria has denied any knowledge of the armament shipments, and said it has appointed an independent judge to investigate.
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Ramaphosa held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 12 and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy the following day. Both of them had agreed to receive the African heads of state, he said.