Cape Town – Former president Jacob Zuma believes the conflict between Russia and Ukraine stems from the expansion of the Western military alliance, Nato, a report says.
Discussions about Ukraine joining Nato have been ongoing since the mid-1990s.
Russia invaded Ukraine 16 months ago but has faced strong resistance from Ukrainian forces.
Over the weekend, President Cyril 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.
According to SABC News, Zuma believes that Western nations are opposed to the existence of the Brics formation.
“I think Russia has been saying this is their neighbour, you can’t in a neigbhouring country bring Nato to interfere with Russia, when you don’t even [have] a country in the Middle East or Africa to think independently.
“You go there, you attack and do everything. But you need to find a solution to solve a problem and this war is in fact linked to the existence of Brics. But unfortunately, you can’t crush Brics. Of course, peace is necessary, wherever there is a fight or clash, you need to come in and do [broker] peace,” the report quoted Zuma as saying.
Zuma made these comments during a mini-rally organised by the South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco) near Durban.
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.
The president, along with leaders from Senegal, Zambia, and Comoros, met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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Composed by Betha Madhomu
