Cape Town – President Cyril Ramaphosa has shed more light on the recent telephonic conversation he had with his counterpart Vladimir Putin on the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine
“We had a very good conversation. He (Putin) explained to me what was happening in that theatre of war and he also explained why they took the action that they (Russia) took.
“And he appreciated the position that we have taken of abstaining in the vote, and we abstained because the resolution did not address all the issues that would… encourage mediation and peaceful mediation,” Ramaphosa said.
According to The Citizen, South Africa, together with Zimbabwe, Mali, Namibia and Mozambique were among the 35 member states that abstained from voting on the Russia-Ukraine conflict at the United Nations General Assembly on March 02.
This came as the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution that demanded Russia to immediately withdraw from Ukraine, the report said.
The resolution was adopted after 141 out of 193 member states voted for the non-binding resolution, while five voted against the resolution, said the report.
We expressed to President Putin that we still want the conflict to be subjected to mediation and he accepted that and we are grateful for the conversation we had. pic.twitter.com/E5Wl1zNO7T
— Cyril Ramaphosa ?? (@CyrilRamaphosa) March 12, 2022
“… We expressed to him that we still want the conflict to be subjected to mediation and he accepted that. So we are grateful for the conversation that we had. It happened at our instance, we asked for it because we felt that we needed to hear from him.
“So we are grateful for the conversation that we had. It happened at our instance. We asked for it because we felt that we needed to hear from him and I’ll be talking to other leaders as well to talk about this, and also to explain the stance and the position that we have taken, remembering that there are many other countries that have taken the same position that we have taken,” Ramaphosa said.
A Russian state news website said on Thursday last week that Putin briefed Ramaphosa about the situation regarding talks with representatives of the Ukrainian authorities.
ALSO READ | Cyril Ramaphosa speaks to Vladimir Putin over Russia-Ukraine conflict… SA asked to mediate
“At the request of Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of Russia spoke about the reasons for and goals of the special military operation to protect Donbass. He also informed the South African leader about the situation regarding talks with representatives of the Ukrainian authorities. The President of South Africa supported the ongoing political and diplomatic efforts,” the report said.
It said that Putin and Ramaphosa agreed to continue their contacts.
Ramaphosa’s government has been criticised over its stance and refusal to condemn Moscow for the raging conflict, that has claimed thousands of civilians’ lives and led to the mass exodus of over 2 million people fleeing Ukraine.
Last week, Western Cape Premier Alan Winde hosted Ukraine’s Ambassador to South Africa, Ms Liubov Abravitova and made it clear that his Democratic Alliance party “strongly” condemned Russia “for its illegal invasion of Ukraine”.
“I met with Ukraine’s Ambassador to South Africa, Ms Liubov Abravitova, where I shared our unequivocal position that we strongly condemn the Russian Federation for its illegal invasion of Ukraine. I also expressed my great sorrow for the loss of life.
2/3 This unprovoked, illegal war, which threatens world peace and the very foundation of the liberal international order, cannot be met by neutrality and silence. It requires all of us to take a stand. pic.twitter.com/b0sGg1X1Rw
— Premier Alan Winde (@alanwinde) March 11, 2022
“This unprovoked, illegal war, which threatens world peace and the very foundation of the liberal international order, cannot be met by neutrality and silence. It requires all of us to take a stand,” tweeted Winde.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
