Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Cyril Ramaphosa in June.
Ruslan Kaniuka / Ukrinform/Future Publishing via G
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he had a long and “fruitful” conversation with SA President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday – though Ramaphosa has had nothing to say about it so far.
- According to Zelensky, he talked about South Africa signing up to his peace proposal, about evacuating South Africans in the Middle East, and grain.
- Zimbabwe is due to receive free grain from Russia, while Ukraine is pushing its Grain from Ukraine initiative.
This article has been updated below.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described as “lengthy and fruitful” a call with President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday, providing a long list of issues that they discussed, some of them highly sensitive to SA’s partner, Russia.
As of early Wednesday afternoon, Ramaphosa had said nothing at all about the call, and his office was not available on Wednesday morning to confirm it had happened at all.
According to Zelensky’s office, Ramaphosa agreed on the need to continue exporting Ukrainian grain, which is critical for the world’s food security.
Zelensky had invited South Africa to take part in a summit on the Grain from Ukraine initiative, he said.
Russia has promised to send countries, including Zimbabwe, a vast amount of free grain, under its Black Sea initiative. That promises to disrupt the regional grain market, where South Africa is a key exporter.
READ | Russia could soon hand Zimbabwe – a key South African export market – R320 million worth of grain
Zelensky’s office said the two also “exchanged views on the situation in the Middle East and discussed the possibility of evacuating South African citizens from the conflict zone in the region”.
Ukraine said Zelensky had discussed his Ukrainian Peace Formula with Ramaphosa, which insists that Russia must withdraw its troops and face justice for its attempt to wipe Ukraine off the map. It did not say how Ramaphosa responded, though Zelensky separately said South Africa had agreed to be involved in further peace talks.
“It is very important that South Africa supports the Ukrainian Peace Formula and is ready to participate in the next rounds of negotiations on its implementation,” was all Zelensky’s office shared.
Update
On Wednesday afternoon, Ramaphosa’s office issued a statement saying the two leaders had spoken at Zelensky’s request, and confirming they had both affirmed their “shared desire for a peaceful resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.”
Ramaphosa’s office said he had committed SA to engagement with the Africa Peace Initiative in Ukraine, and the Ukraine Peace Formula.
The Ramaphosa statement dealt in some detail with their Middle East discussion, saying Ramaphosa had “expressed his deepest concern at the rapid escalation of the conflict, the unprecedented level of destruction and toll on human lives.
“President Ramaphosa reiterated South Africa’s call for an immediate end to the violence, return of hostages and for urgency in the opening of humanitarian corridors.”
