Cape Town – President Cyril Ramaphosa has reportedly said that his phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday highlights South Africa’s ongoing crucial role in in resolving global conflicts.
Ramaphosa said this while addressing business leaders and ambassadors gathered at the Sandton Convention Centre.
The call followed Ramaphosa’s visit to Ukraine and Russia in June, where he led a delegation of African heads of state in an effort to end the war.
“I spoke to President Zelensky on issues that stem from our visit and discussions. He appreciated our visit and said it was a positive visit. We spoke about the 10 points we set out, and he said he appreciated South Africa’s role. Our country continues to play an important role in seeing how conflicts can be resolved,” News24 quoted Ramaphosa as saying.
Meanwhile, in a tweet on Thursday, Zelensky expressed gratitude to Ramaphosa for his visit to Bucha and Kyiv, alongside other African leaders, and their joint efforts to repatriate illegally deported children.
Had a phone call with the Republic of South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa. Thanked him for visiting Bucha and Kyiv together with other African leaders and for further efforts to return children illegally deported by Russia. We praised the results of the meeting of advisors in Copenhagen.
“We discussed the preparations for the Global Peace Summit and the necessary diplomatic steps to consolidate African support for Ukraine. We also emphasised the importance of extending the grain corridor,” he wrote.
Had a phone call with the President of the Republic of South Africa 🇿🇦 @CyrilRamaphosa. Thanked him for visiting Bucha and Kyiv together with other African leaders and for further efforts to return children illegally deported by Russia. We praised the results of the meeting of…
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 13, 2023
Despite a political rift surrounding Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attendance, Ramaphosa affirmed that the summit would take place face-to-face, highlighting South Africa’s significant role despite being the smallest economy among the Brics countries.
There were suggestions that the summit could be held virtually due to an arrest warrant issued against Putin by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
However, Ramaphosa dismissed these rumours, saying the summit would be a face-to-face gathering.
“There were rumours that this too could become an online summit – no. It is going to be face to face, eyeball to eyeball.
“Expect a number of heads of State. But importantly, the five BRICS heads of State will attend the forum,” EWN quoted Ramaphosa as saying while addressing business leaders and ambassadors gathered at the Sandton Convention Centre on Thursday.
The report said that at least 22 heads of State already confirmed their attendance at the summit, scheduled to take place in Johannesburg.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Twitter/@CyrilRamaphosa
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