South Africa intends to help create conditions for the resolution of the conflict in Ukraine, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said in an article published in the US media.
"Our position seeks to contribute to the creation of conditions that make the achievement of a durable resolution of the conflict [in Ukraine] possible," the president noted.
He emphasized that South Africa seeks an inclusive and representative world order to strengthen multilateral engagement and promote conflict resolution through dialogue, which helps explain Pretoria's approach to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
"From the outset, we have maintained that the international community needs to work together to urgently achieve a cessation of hostilities and to prevent further loss of life and displacement of civilians in Ukraine," Ramaphosa pointed out, adding that "it needs to support meaningful dialogue toward a lasting peace."
According to the president, South Africa was part of an African peace mission to Ukraine and Russia for that very purpose.
We do not accept that our nonaligned position favors Russia above other countries. Nor do we accept that it imperils our relations with other countries.
In this vein, the president noted that South Africa-US relations are characterized by mutual respect and a willingness to engage in dialogue even on controversial issues, citing the example of the Russian ship Lady R, which docked at the South African naval base in Simon's Town in December 2022, and six months later triggered US accusations against Pretoria for allegedly supplying weapons to Russia.
"When claims emerged that a Russian ship that had docked in a South African port in December 2022 had supposedly loaded weapons destined for Russia, we established an independent inquiry. The investigation found no evidence for the claims and the matter was put to rest," Ramaphosa revealed.
In May, the US ambassador to South Africa, Reuben Brigety, said that the Lady R vessel had allegedly took on board weapons and ammunition for further delivery to Russia.
In response, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov advised the ambassador to "know your place and stay out of other nations' business," noting that Moscow has never violated international norms.
In early September, Ramaphosa said that the independent panel of experts had not found any proof that armaments were loaded aboard the vessel, and the ship was delivering equipment to the South African National Defense Force.
From the very outset, South Africa has denied its involvement in arms deliveries to Russia. In response to Brigety's accusations, the South African Foreign Ministry sent an official protest to the US diplomatic body. Following the protest, the ambassador admitted that he had crossed the line and apologized.
African Russia-Ukraine Peace Initiative
Last June, a delegation of African leaders led by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa visited Ukraine and Russia to present their views on the settlement of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict to both parties.
The delegation presented a 10-point peace plan that included de-escalation of the conflict on both sides, diplomatic negotiations, ensuring sovereignty of states in accordance with the UN Charter, prisoner exchange, post-conflict reconstruction, and other points.
Responding to some of these points, Putin noted that Ukraine itself had withdrawn from negotiations with Russia, although a peace agreement, which he showed to the African delegation, had been initialed in Istanbul.
In February, South African Ambassador to Russia Mzuvukile Geoff Maketuka told Russian media that the leaders of seven African countries, including South Africa, involved in the Russia-Ukraine peace initiative plan to visit Kiev and Moscow again to encourage Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to start negotiations.