Zelenskyy to visit South Africa in April: talks peace with President Ramaphosa
Pravda Ukraine
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit South Africa next month to discuss efforts to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Source: Bloomberg
Details: Zelenskyy and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa are scheduled to meet on 10 April.
Quote from Ramaphosa’s spokesman Vincent Magwenya: “The visit is a continuation of ongoing engagements held by President Ramaphosa with President Putin and President Zelenskyy on an inclusive peace process that will provide a path to peace between Russia and Ukraine.” [N.B. Ukrainska Pravda does not recognise Putin as president – ed.]
Details: The publication recalls that South Africa has taken a non-aligned position on Russia’s war in Ukraine, and Ramaphosa has previously stated this would help end the war. However, the initiative of six African countries led by Ramaphosa two years ago to end the conflict has not yielded any results.
Background:
- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa visited Ukraine in June 2023 as part of an African delegation that included the presidents of the Comoros, Senegal and Zambia, the Egyptian prime minister, as well as special envoys from the Republic of Congo and Uganda.
- Their goal was to act as mediators between Russia and Ukraine and to negotiate increased grain and fertiliser supplies from both countries to the African continent.
- At the time, Ramaphosa outlined ten key components of the African Union’s position on the Russo-Ukrainian war. These included peace through negotiations, security guarantees, respect for state sovereignty, prisoner exchanges – including bringing children back to Ukraine – post-war reconstruction, and other issues.
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