Cape Town – The Ukrainian ambassador to South Africa, Liubov Abravitova, has expressed satisfaction that the conflict in Ukraine is now being recognised as a war, although she considers it an invasion.
She commended the African peace mission, which included President Cyril Ramaphosa, for their efforts in holding talks with the leaders of Ukraine and Russia.
Over the weekend, Ramaphosa participated in a peace delegation to Ukraine and Russia, where he met with Presidents Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin in an effort to mediate peace between the two countries.
Abravitova noted that the African delegation had changed their terminology to describe the conflict as a war, contrary to Putin’s characterisation of it as a military operation.
“I really believe it’s a great achievement. If you listen to the press conference, you will hear the leaders failing to call the conflict by its real name. And already later we did hear the leaders saying this is the war,” EWN quoted her as saying.
She also accused Putin of not wanting peace and seeking to eliminate the Ukrainian population.
“Putin doesn’t want peace. He wants Ukraine, he wants to eliminate the Ukranian population,” said Abravitova.
Meanwhile, Ramaphosa has described his Ukraine-Russia trip as a success, although he acknowledged that it may not immediately end the war.
He expressed hope that their proposals, which include humanitarian assistance and the release of prisoners of war and children taken out of Ukraine, would be taken into consideration.
The Africa Peace Initiative has been impactful and its ultimate success will be measured on the objective, which is stopping the war.#AfricanPeaceMission pic.twitter.com/mmZvQUe9RA
— Cyril Ramaphosa ?? (@CyrilRamaphosa) June 18, 2023
“We also added that the humanitarian assistance must get to the people who are suffering in the war and part of that must be about the release of prisoners of war as well as the release of the children who were taken out of Ukraine and to be returned back,” said Ramaphosa.
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Composed by Betha Madhomu
