Cyril Ramaphosa’s Call To Russian President Vladimir Putin – Has He Taken A Side?

Amid the ongoing Russian-Ukraine war, South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa recently thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin following a phone call between the two where the South African president sought to gain an understanding of the situation unfolding between Russia and Ukraine. Ramaphosa disclosed that his country was asked to mediate in the Russia-Ukraine crisis, but he refused to disclose who made the request.

Cyril Ramphosa via a tweet, had this to say “Thanking his excellency, Vladimir Putin for taking my call today, so I could gain an understanding of the situation that was unfolding between Russia and Ukraine. I outlined our position on the conflict that has unfolded as well as our belief that the conflict should be resolved through mediation and negotiation between the parties and if need be, with the help of agencies that can help bring a solution to the conflict. President Putin appreciated our balanced approach. We believe this position enables both parties to subject the conflict to mediation and negotiation. Based on our relations with the Russian Federation and a member of BRICS, South Africa has been approached to play a mediation role”.

Although Ramaphosa disclosed that his call to Putin was to mediate and gain an understanding of the situation, as well broker peace. Unfortunately, his actions didn’t sit too well with many, as he received backlash even from his countrymen who accused him of being Pro-Russian and taking the side of the oppressor. Some stated that if he wanted to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, he wouldn’t have called only Putin, but also Zelensky. Cyril Ramaphosa had earlier disclosed that South Africa has remained neutral in the Russia-Ukraine war of which they were among the 35 countries that voted to abstain during the recent UN resolution that saw the global body condemn the Russian Invasion of Ukraine.

People have however suggested that Ramaphosa has chosen the side of the oppressor which is Russia, knowing full well that Putin is at fault, yet he refused to condemn his actions. If we look at this issue with a holistic approach, one will be tempted to say that Ramaphosa might have placed a call to Putin to protect his country’s relationship with Russia. It is a known fact that Russia and South Africa have both had a cordial bilateral relationship that stems from the Soviet Union era when they trained the anti-apartheid activists during the cold war. Many have said that if Ramaphosa was playing the role of a mediator, the first thing he would have done was to tell Putin to stop the atrocities he is committing against Ukraine, and to immediately call for a ceasefire.

On the other hand, I feel people should cut Ramaphosa some slack as he earlier hinted that based on South Africa’s position as a member of BRICS, they were approached to play a mediation role. This move might not necessarily have been initiated by him. Asides from the fact that Russia and South Africa have a very strong relationship, one wouldn’t expect Ramaphosa to condemn Russia’s act immediately, to avoid putting their relationship with Russia in jeopardy. South Africans have however warned that Ramaphosa’s love for Europe must be monitored lest he gets them involved in something messy.

Some have opined that Africa must adopt a strict policy of non-alignment in the light of the Russian-Ukraine war, and they must not take sides but rather condemn both sides if need be. They disclosed that there should be a call for peaceful co-existence. Some South African politicians have made it clear that the country needs to play its part to ensure President Putin is brought to the negotiating table, as his violation of Ukrainian territory is a direct infringement of international law and should not be allowed to stand.