Cape Town – Political science professor Dirk Kotzé from Unisa has commented on the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) strong reaction to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s statement at the BRICS summit, where he called Russia and President Vladimir Putin “valuable allies”.
DA, a former opposition party now in government, on Wednesday rejected Ramaphosa comments about Russia.
Ramaphosa was in Russia this week for the Brics summit in Kazan and met with President Vladimir Putin who he called a “friend” – words that the DA rejected.
“The Democratic Alliance does not consider Russia, or Vladimir Putin, to be an ally of our Nation,” party leader John Steenhuisen said in a statement.
He said that positions expressed on behalf of the government of national unity, a coalition of 10 parties, should be “subject to full and proper debate within the government mechanisms before being announced.”
The African National Congress (ANC) which has ruled South Africa since the end of apartheid three decades ago lost its majority in May elections, forcing it into a coalition.
The DA, which has long been a critic of the ANC, is now the second largest party in government and often dissents on foreign policy matters.
Steenhuisen, who was appointed Minister of Agriculture, said the government could not “afford to make statements that could jeopardise international relations and trade opportunities”.
“We cannot and will not agree that South Africa should consider an authoritarian regime, that is currently violating international law by waging an imperialist war of aggression against a sovereign state, as an ally,” he said.
Despite this, Kotzé said he does not believe it will affect South Africa’s government of national unity (GNU).
“At the moment for the Brics summit, there’s only ANC ministers in the delegation and no one from the other members of the government of national unity and that complicates the matter and if some of the other party including the DA were there, it could have been very different, he said during an interview with Newzroom Afrika.
Political sciences professor at Unisa Dirk Kotzé says although the DA reacted strongly to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s expression at the BRICS summit in Russia that the country and its president Vladimir Putin was a valuable ally of South Africa, he doesn’t believe this will… pic.twitter.com/2RYAkdCLbj
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) October 23, 2024
Kotze added: “On top of this, is the fact that the new minister of foreign affairs of Ukraine will be here in South Africa and will talk about the peace plans and programmes in which South Africa is regarded as a very important component So, while there is criticism of Russia about the reaching out to Russia, on the other hand, the Ukrainian minister will be here, even preparing possibly for a visit by President Zelensky to South Africa.”
Kotzé noted that South Africa has made significant efforts in the Russia-Ukraine peace process and is unlikely to risk damaging those diplomatic relationships.
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Source: AFP
Picture: X/@jsteenhuisen
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