South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is planning to send a delegation to G7 nations in a bid to explain the country's policy on Russia's special military operation in Ukraine and bring about a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
He made the announcement on Wednesday afternoon while delivering the budget vote in the National Assembly.
According to the president, International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana and two other cabinet members are expected to be deployed to reiterate the nation's commitment to the non-aligned position.
"I will be sending the minister of international relations and cooperation, the minister of trade, industry and competition, the minister of finance and the minister in the presidency as my envoys to the G7 countries to explain our peace mission and to deal with various diplomatic matters," he said, as cited by local media.
The president underlined that South Africa's foreign policy stance is based on the understanding that multilateralism, respect for justice and the norms of international law are critical to sustaining global political and economic stability.
However, he stressed, South Africa has managed to maintain its non-aligned stance, while respecting the UN Charter and advocating for peaceful resolution of the conflict through dialogue.
"We will continue to maintain an independent foreign policy and will use our presence in international forums to promote dialog and peaceful resolution of the conflict," Ramaphosa stated.
The president further noted that since the beginning of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the country's position has been that the conflict should be resolved through negotiation. In this regard, he added, in a bid to put an end to hostilities, South Africa will take part in a mission initiated by six African nations aimed to bring about a peaceful and negotiated resolution to the conflict.
Last month, President Ramaphosa announced that he had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky on behalf of African countries. He reportedly presented them with a peace initiative from Zambia, Senegal, the Republic of Congo, Uganda, Egypt and South Africa. He noted that both presidents expressed their support for the mission of leaders of African nations with their peace initiatives on the conflict.