‘Time to clear the air!’ – Steenhuisen backs Ramaphosa’s Trump talks

Trump

Cape Town – DA leader and Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen has welcomed upcoming talks between President Cyril Ramaphosa and US President Donald Trump as an opportunity to correct misconceptions about South Africa.

According to IOL, he dismissed claims of land expropriation and genocide, stating that “terrible things” were not happening in the country, contrary to what some have told Trump.

“There’s no mass expropriation of land. There’s no genocide taking place at all. I am very glad that the two presidents have spoken,” the report quoted him as saying.

Steenhuisen shared his remarks on Thursday, while attending the official working visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.

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 Trump’s views were influenced by right-wing groups like AfriForum and Solidarity, who alleged that white South Africans were being persecuted. These claims were rejected by the South African government as false.

Steenhuisen emphasised the importance of using the next 90 days wisely to address the tariff situation and restore US-South Africa relations.

Ramaphosa said on Thursday that he had spoken to Trump about the conflict in Ukraine and they planned to meet “soon”.

“I spoke to President Donald Trump to discuss the peace process in Ukraine,” Ramaphosa said on social media.

The leaders had “agreed that the war should be brought to an end as soon as possible to stop further unnecessary deaths,” he said.

“We both agreed to meet soon to address various matters regarding US-South Africa relations.”

Ties between Pretoria and Washington took a nosedive after Trump came to power this year.

He has criticised various South African domestic and international policies, including Pretoria’s case at the International Court of Justice on Israel’s war in Gaza.

The tensions culminated in the expulsion of Pretoria’s ambassador last month.

Trump has also cut financial aid over what he alleged was an anti-white land policy and offered refugee settlement to the white Afrikaner minority that he has claimed is being persecuted.

In his social media post, Ramaphosa said he and Trump had agreed on “the need to foster good relations between our two countries.”

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