BRICS, Ukraine, and food security were on the agenda when Cyril Ramaphosa spoke to Vladimir Putin this week – Photo: MFA Russia
BRICS, Ukraine, and food security were on the agenda when Cyril Ramaphosa spoke to Vladimir Putin this week – Photo: MFA Russia
It appears that Cyril Ramaphosa is a big fan of that old saying; ‘keep your friends close, and your war-mongering authoritarian leaders closer’. The ANC leader picked up the phone for a discussion with Russian President Vladimir Putin – and yes, Ukraine was mentioned.
Russian forces invaded Ukraine back in February, subjecting the European nation to unrelenting bloodshed and destruction. South Africa’s diplomatic decision to stay neutral on the matter also drew criticism, but it seems our ties with Russia won’t be weakening any time soon.
“Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with President of the Republic of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa – at the South African side’s initiative. We can confirm that both Putin and Ramaphosa also exchanged views on the situation in Ukraine.”
Kremlin statement
We seriously doubt that Cyril pushed Vladimir too hard any of the trickier conversation points, and it does indeed appear that South Africa will only look to strengthen its bond with the Kremlin, rather than ostracising it like the rest of the world (well, almost) has done.
Ramaphosa is understood to have expressed a desire to expand trade with Russia, and build the BRICS agenda even further. Putin was also quizzed about the impact his war is having on food security in Africa – but exact details about these conversations remain scarce.
What we do know, however, is that the pair spoke about the following topics.
???????????????????? President Vladimir Putin and South African President @CyrilRamaphosa spoke over the phone.
— MFA Russia ???????? (@mfa_russia) June 15, 2022
They stressed the intention to expand mutually beneficial cooperation, above all in trade & investment, noted the importance of joint work within #BRICS.
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