Cape Town — International Relations and Co-operation Minister Naledi Pandor said that South Africa will not sever its ties with Russia despite pressure from the international community.
Pandor was speaking at the 17th South Africa-Russia Joint Inter-Governmental Committee in Pretoria on Thursday.
The spotlight turned towards the country’s government after it refused to condemn the Russia-Ukrainian war. However, Naledi expressed her desire for a peaceful end to the conflict in Ukraine.
“You see, there is a great deal of media interest in our meeting because there are some who don’t wish us to have relations with an old historical friend. We have made it clear that Russia is a friend and we have had co-operative partnerships for many years including partnerships as we combated the apartheid regime, which decimated our people and our country. While we are friends with many in the world, we cannot become sudden enemies at the demand of others,” IOL quoted Pandor as saying.
“We have made it clear that Russia is a friend…And while we are friends with many all over the world, we cannot become sudden enemies at the demand of others,” International Relations and Co-operation minister Naledi Pandor says.#Newzroom405 pic.twitter.com/Y52Ry12Rmg
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) March 30, 2023
She insisted that South Africa will not dump Russia because other countries want it to do so, the report said.
“We as South Africa remain hopeful that we can find a diplomatic solution to the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
“We believe such a peaceful resolution will be beneficial to both countries but also to the global communities, as all of us are impacted upon both by the sanctions as well as by the conflict,” Jacaranda FM quoted Pandor as saying.
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Meanwhile, the DA has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to ensure that Russian president, Vladimir Putin is not among the leaders set to attend the BRICS summit in South Africa in August.
“The ICC’s issuing of a warrant for Putin’s arrest for alleged war crimes should serve as a final warning to the ANC that while the governing party might make light of the invasion of a neighbouring country, the international community does not,” said DA Shadow Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Darren Bergman.
“The country simply cannot afford another hit to our reputation – the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) greylisting due to the failure to effectively combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism has already caused the rest of the world to view South Africa’s global transactions as high-risk,” he added.
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Compiled by Junaid Benjamin
