Ramaphosa and Zelensky edge towards phone call as SA appears to soften

President Cyril Ramaphosa, whose government has faced criticism for its neutral stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine despite mounting evidence of atrocities, could be a step closer to securing a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky.

This comes after an apparent softening on the issue by the department of international relations & co-operation.

Ukrainian ambassador Liubov Abravitova told Business Day that she had a positive meeting on Monday with director-general Zane Dangor, in which she was granted an opportunity to officially inform the department about the recent developments in Ukraine as well as the humanitarian situation there.

“We agreed to work closely together, particularly on the telephone call between the presidents,” she said.

PODCAST: Make the call already Mr President

Abravitova has also started writing to local businesses with assets in Russia to stop “activities and co-operation” there.

Ramaphosa on March 17 asked to speak to Zelensky by phone, a week after speaking to Russian President Vladimir Putin. His office said afterwards that Ramaphosa had been approached to mediate in the conflict, which has never been corroborated by officials from either side.

There was an attempt to connect Ramaphosa and Zelensky ahead of the second UN General Assembly resolution on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine on March 24, but Ramaphosa was focused on the investment conference in Sandton that day. Business Day established that Ramaphosa sought a call with the Ukrainian leader after Abravitova requested a meeting with Ramaphosa, which the SA side saw as a breach of protocol.

It is believed there has been some resentment from the Ukrainians about an alternative resolution drawn up by SA, which did not apportion blame in the conflict. The stance was in contrast with the view of major democracies, which have condemned Russia, with US President Joe Biden going as far as calling Putin a “war criminal” over the targeting of civilians.

Abravitova took to Twitter on Sunday to say that she had been trying for 45 days — since the start of Russia’s military intervention — to secure a meeting with SA officials, but to no avail.

Early on Monday, international relations and co-operation spokesperson Clayson Monyela said Abravitova’s tweet was “wrong and undiplomatic”.

Monyela reminded her that she had met departmental officials on March 3 and also had several meetings with the head of the Europe branch at the department, Maud Dlomo. She also had engagements with Ramaphosa’s adviser on international relations, Maropene Ramokgopa, and international relations & and co-operation deputy minister Alvin Botes.

Monyela accused Abravitova of not responding to a request for a phone call between Ramaphosa and Zelensky, but it is believed that Abravitova wanted more information on the agenda before setting up a call. It is also believed there was a meeting between Zelensky’s advisers and SA’s ambassador to Ukraine, André Groenewald.

Business Day understands that Abravitova sent about eight notes verbales — a form of diplomatic communication where messages are delivered between governments — in an attempt to secure a meeting with SA ministers, including defence minister Thandi Modise, who attended a function at the Russian embassy the day after Russian tanks moved into Ukraine.

There was also a request to meet international relations & and co-operation minister Naledi Pandor, but officials said her diary was too full, and Abravitova had a meeting with Botes instead. Government officials also appeared to have been irked by Abravitova’s public appearance with DA leader John Steenhuisen, whose party declared its support for Ukraine from the start of the invasion.

Apart from the destruction brought about by Russia’s illegal actions in Ukraine, another official speculated that Abravitova might be under pressure from Zelensky to be seen to be acting. The Ukrainian president recalled ambassadors to Morocco and Georgia at the end of last month for not doing enough to persuade those countries to support Ukraine and punish Russia for the invasion, AP reported.

SA has remained neutral on three UN resolutions relating to the conflict in Ukraine, the latest being a resolution on terminating Russia’s membership of the UN Human Rights Council.

While SA’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, Xolisa Mabhongo, last week said the country was “deeply concerned about reports of civilian casualties in Ukraine”, other nations have been voicing outrage at atrocities, including a rocket attack on a rail station that killed more than 50 people.