President Cyril Ramaphosa appeared to inch closer to the middle ground in the Russian/ Ukraine war in parliament on Thursday, saying the use of force and the violation of international law cannot be condoned and countries should refrain from the use of force to invade others.
“What is happening is undesirable,” the president said. “War, violence never really solve any problems. We don’t support war.”
SA’s neutral position on the war has been fiercely criticised both at home and abroad and is at odds with that of the US and European countries, which are SA’s biggest trading partners. Trade with Russia is tiny.
Three weeks after the start of the war, Ramaphosa said he wanted to speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which would balance his previous call last Thursday to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who thanked him for SA’s “balanced approach”.
This led to perceptions that SA had avoided condemning Russia because of its ties with the country, which like SA, is part of Brics, which also includes Brazil, India and China.
SA was one of the few countries to abstain from voting on a UN General Assembly resolution condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The invasion has caused the loss of lives, the flight of about
3-million refugees and the destruction of homes, buildings and infrastructure.
It has also led to higher fuel and food prices, which are feeding into higher inflation around the world.
The president said in a question-and-answer session with MPs in the National Assembly that he also wants to speak to other world leaders so that SA’s position can be made clear.
SA is committed to the articles of the UN Charter, including the principle that all members should settle their international disputes by peaceful means.
“We support the principle that members should refrain from the threat of the use of force against the territorial and political independence of other states,” Ramaphosa said.
Adversarial
However, he continued to call for dialogue, mediation and negotiation and a cessation of hostilities to achieve a peace that ensures the security and stability of all nations.
He repeated that SA has been approached by several interlocutors to play a role, which would be foreclosed if SA adopted a condemnatory approach. SA took the same position with regard to the Northern Ireland conflict. Ramaphosa said he was involved in the attempt to resolve this conflict.
“Some are insisting that we take a very adversarial approach against Russia. We are insisting that there should be dialogue.”
Sanctions, he said, may prolong and intensify the conflict. He said the war could have been avoided if the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) had heeded warnings that an eastern expansion would lead to greater instability in the region. Russia feels this is a national existential threat. Ramaphosa also referred to the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, when Russia met with US resistance to its bid to establish missiles on the island.
The conflict, he said, highlights the need for a multilateral approach. The UN Security Council needs to be overhauled because its architecture does not reflect the realities of the global landscape, as Africa is not represented on it.
The president also dealt with the effect of the war on fuel and food prices and said that the government will use “all the levers at its disposal” to cushion South Africans from the rising costs of living.
“Government is determined to take steps to cushion South Africans from the various price pressures SA is facing,” Ramaphosa said.
He revealed that the matter was discussed at a cabinet committee meeting on Wednesday. A committee of ministers has been set up to look at the effect of the Russia/Ukraine conflict on fuel and food prices, and the department of mineral resources & energy and the Treasury are reviewing the methodology used to calculate the basic fuel price and other regulated components in a bid to reduce the cost of fuel.
“These changes will be implemented as ... quickly as possible,” Ramaphosa said.
“We want to secure the livelihoods of our people as much as we possibly can in ways that are affordable to us as a government and as a country.”
Fuel levy
On Tuesday, mineral resources & energy minister Gwede
Mantashe told MPs that consideration was being given to a suspension of the fuel levy.
Ramaphosa stressed on Thursday that the performance of state-owned enterprises may be considerably strengthened by bringing in strategic partners — as is happening with SAA — without the state losing control.
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