Ramaphosa set to join African mission to broker peace talks between Ukraine, Russia

President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to be part of a delegation of African leaders who will be reaching out to both countries as the war continues to rage. 

Ramaphosa is facilitating the talks because of his open line to both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian head of state Volodymyr Zelensky. Daily Maverick understands that Ramaphosa called both leaders last week and both were open to the idea.  

He made the official announcement of this new development at the ANC National Working Committee meeting over the weekend, according to sources.

The plan was mooted even before the public spat between South Africa and the US but is starting to take shape now. 

Ramaphosa said on Tuesday it is important for Africa to come forward with this initiative. He was speaking on the sidelines of the state visit of Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

“We are hoping that we will have intensive discussions with the two heads of state and they have said that they are open to having these discussions with us. As to where the discussions lead, we will see as the discussions get under way. So it is very difficult to predict what in the end the real outcome will be and what the full ramifications will be about BRICS,” he explained.

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Preparations are now under way for the African heads of state to travel to Kyiv and Moscow to begin the negotiations.

The other countries in the delegation are Zambia, Senegal, Uganda, Congo and Egypt. 

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Sources told Daily Maverick that these countries are trying to convince UN secretary-general António Guterres and other key countries such as the US and the UK to get on board. Ramaphosa had already reached out to US President Joe Biden about the initiative. 

A negotiated resolution will not only halt the bloodshed but will help to slow the haemorrhaging from African economies.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has had adverse effects on economies around the world and particularly poses a threat to food security in South Africa because of sanctions imposed on Russia. The Russian government supplies African countries with grain and fertiliser.

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South Africa has in the past few months faced a backlash over its non- aligned stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This led to South Africa abstaining from the United Nations vote on Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian territories, while 143 countries voted in favour of the resolution.

In a further escalation of tensions, US ambassador to South Africa Reuben Brigety rocked US relations with South Africa by publicly announcing that the US was “confident” that the South African government had loaded weapons and ammunition on to the Russian cargo ship Lady R in the Simon’s Town naval harbour in December 2022.

On the other hand, Pretoria has continued to strengthen its close ties with Moscow despite calls for Putin to be arrested for his hand in the war.

The arrest warrant was issued by the International Criminal Court in The Hague in March, and since South Africa is a member of the ICC it is obligated to arrest Putin when he is in the country for the BRICS summit in August. 

Ramaphosa appointed an interministerial committee last month which is expected to consider South Africa’s position in relation to the ICC. It will be chaired by Deputy President Paul Mashatile.

This follows confusion over South Africa’s position regarding the ICC: Ramaphosa announced that the country would pull out of the international statutory body, but the Presidency later made a U-turn, saying that South Africa would remain a signatory to the Rome Statute. DM