South Africa has positioned itself to adopt a more significant role in the Russia-Ukraine peace process following a breakthrough meeting between presidents Cyril Ramaphosa and Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Zelenskiy, who arrived in South Africa early on Thursday, was forced to cut short his visit due to an overnight aerial attack on Kyiv by Russia that killed at least 12 and injured more than 80.
But before leaving he held a private hour-long meeting with Ramaphosa at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, in which they discussed how to bring the three-year-old Ukraine war to an end, and other issues.
Afterwards the leaders held a cordial joint press conference in which Ramaphosa said South Africa’s experience of negotiating an end to apartheid had led him to believe that preconditions to a ceasefire and peace talks were not useful.
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Ramaphosa’s views on how to get Russia and Ukraine to the negotiation table contrast with those of US president Donald Trump. The US wants Zelenskiy to permanently abandon Crimea, which Russia occupied in 2014, and to give up Ukraine’s ambition to join Nato.
Last Wednesday the US criticised him for refusing to recognise Russia’s occupation of land and threatened to walk out on the peace process if both countries refused its sign up to its plan.
Asked whether Ukraine should be willing to concede territory to Russia, Ramaphosa refused to be drawn, saying this amounted “to a precondition.”
“What we should focus on is there is a willingness and a commitment from Ukraine for an unconditional ceasefire. This sets a very good and positive tone for negotiations to commence. It is a confidence-building measure that should be a key ingredient in a negotiation process. I see this as great progress,” he said.
Once a ceasefire was in place “everything can be discussed”, he added.
Despite being cut short, the Ukraine leader’s visit to South Africa is viewed locally as a dramatic turnaround in the relations between the two countries, which have been strained since Russia invaded its neighboure.
South Africa has refused to take sides in the conflict but it did lead a multi-country delegation on a fact-finding mission going to Russia and Ukraine in June 2023.
Nevertheless, analysts in South Africa and the West view Ramaphosa’s non-aligned stance as tacit support for Vladimir Putin, who has been a long-time friend of the ruling African National Congress party.
South Africa’s government denies this and insists it is a good faith actor with potential to mediate between the sides.
During the ANC’s fight against apartheid, the Soviet Union, which included Ukraine, backed the liberation movement with arms, money and training for its military wing.
Ramaphosa’s position on preconditions appears to align with this stated approach to dealing with the Russia-Ukraine war, even though it may well upset Putin and strain South Africa’s longstanding ties with his regime.
Indeed, Zelenskiy’s visit to South Africa had all the makings of a broader diplomatic breakthrough in Ukraine’s efforts to counter Russia’s influence on the African continent.
The talks in Pretoria also included efforts to improve co-operation between South Africa and Ukraine in the areas of agriculture, education and trade.
Furthermore, the two countries find themselves at odds with the Trump administration, so broadening their pool of international partners is a high priority for their governments.
Both Trump and Putin have been monitoring Ramaphosa’s peace efforts, with South Africa’s president confirming to reporters that he spoke with the US and Russian leaders before meeting Zelenskiy.
But Ramaphosa denied at the press conference that Trump had asked him to put pressure on Zelenskiy to accept the US peace proposal.
