SA diplomats say they are confident that efforts to find a negotiated settlement to the conflict in Ukraine, and to align SA’s view with that of Western democracies, are moving in the right direction.
That is despite an apparent misunderstanding with the US, which sparked speculation that SA had abandoned its neutral stance to take a harder line against Russia’s invasion of its neighbour, which has killed thousands and forced more than 5-million people from their homes.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has faced criticism at home and abroad for SA’s failure to criticise Russia over a conflict that has also cast a shadow on the global economy, with SA facing a heightened inflation risk from higher food and oil prices and a potential recession in the EU, which remains the country’s largest trading partner.
Presidential security adviser Sydney Mufamadi was positive after an extensive telephone discussion with his US counterpart, Jake Sullivan, on Monday, during which they “agreed about a number of things on how to move forward with respect to co-operation between our two countries”.
But there was disagreement after the White House published a statement implying that the two advisers had highlighted a “need for an immediate end to Russia’s aggression”, language that SA has steadfastly refused to use even as evidence of alleged Russian atrocities emerged.
Mufamadi later told Business Day he did not use the words attributed to him in an interpretation of the discussion. “We had a good discussion,” he said. “I did not issue a statement. They issued a statement and used the language they are accustomed to, which is not our language.”
The US embassy in SA declined to comment.
According to the US statement, Sullivan also pledged US support in responding to the floods that have killed hundreds and destroyed infrastructure in KwaZulu-Natal, and to “work closely with SA to address the crisis in Ukraine”.
The call followed a phone conversation between Ramaphosa and US President Joe Biden earlier in April.
SA diplomats have also reacted positively to news that UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres travelled to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, with plans to also hold talks with Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky.
They had questioned why the UN chief had taken so long to travel to the conflict zone, unlike some of his predecessors — such as Dag Hammarskjöld, who died in a plane crash in 1961 when on a secret peace mission to the Congo.
Mufamadi told the traditional annual Passover dinner hosted by the SA Jewish Board of Deputies days after Ramaphosa’s call with Biden that there “are shades of opinion” even within the “US foreign policy establishment” and that SA and the US are not as far apart as some observers believe.
“Some of you would be surprised in the light of the misleading portraits about the disharmony between the position of the US and that of SA on the issue of the Russia-Ukraine conflict,” Mufamadi said. “The gulf between our respective positions appears to be closing because at least we are agreed that a negotiated settlement ultimately has to be found.”
SA has so far maintained a “nonaligned” stance on the conflict in Ukraine, abstaining from three UN General Assembly votes condemning Russia’s actions and advocating for a negotiated settlement instead.
In contrast, Biden has gone as far as calling Putin a war criminal and accused the country of committing genocide.
According to the White House statement on Monday, Sullivan and Mufamadi also reaffirmed the commitment of their respective presidents to strengthen the bilateral relationship. They also spoke about supporting “counterterrorism and regional security efforts”.
SA troops are part of an intervention force to help stem an insurgency in northern Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province.
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