South Africa, an associate among the five major emerging economies said on Friday, it would engage Russia and the United States following Russia’s operation in Ukraine.
President Ramaphosa stated this on Friday and called on the UN Security Council to act to end the conflict. He stated this, in remarks to newsmen on the sidelines of a conference on litigation in Pretoria.
“We will be having engagements with Russia and the United States,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Twitter.
“We are on the way now of getting a discussion going,” he added.
The only exit from the war was through mediation and negotiation and “engagement because it is not necessary for people to go to war,” Ramaphosa said.
“Some of us were very disappointed when the meeting between President (Joe) Biden and President (Vladimir) Putin did not happen,” Ramaphosa said, referring to a superpower summit that was proposed just before the operation in Ukraine.
“Because, had that meeting gone ahead without any condition, I’m sure we would have avoided the calamitous situation that is unfolding now.”
Ramaphosa called on the UN Security Council to intensify mediation work.
“This is the time when they must all put their heads together and resolve this conflict so that this war stops,” he declared.
The Security Council “should be getting more and more engaged in a mediation process, and one doesn’t see that happening.”
South Africa and Russia have longstanding political ties that were woven during the apartheid era.
Both countries belong to the BRICS emerging economies group along with Brazil, India and China. The BRICS members are known for their significant influence on regional affairs.