SA and the US have agreed that the best way out of the conflict in Ukraine is “not more war, but a negotiated peace”, US deputy secretary of state Wendy Sherman says.
The US would do “everything we can to support Ukraine to defend itself”, she said.
Sherman also warned that the possibility of a nuclear attack by Russia was “always a concern” even though that country has signed a pledge that “a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought”.
Sherman sat down with Business Day on Wednesday after a meeting with international relations minister Naledi Pandor, which concluded her three-day tour of SA.
The meeting with Pandor was not on Sherman’s original schedule but came about after secretary of state Antony Blinken urged Pandor, with whom he has “a superb relationship”, to “spend some time talking”.
Sherman said: “I was very grateful. I’m the first woman deputy secretary of state and she’s a strong leader. We had a great deal to talk about.”
She also met deputy minister Alvin Botes, together with other government officials. Even though the visit did not result in any shifting of positions on either side, officials said it was a success because it opened communication channels between the leaders of the two countries.
It is not the first time leaders from the two countries have spoken about the Ukraine conflict, as presidents Cyril Ramaphosa and Joe Biden spoke by phone in April. More recently, Ramaphosa’s security adviser Sydney Mufamadi had a phone call with US national security adviser Jake Sullivan during which they discussed the economic ramifications of the war.
Sherman repeated the US view that the conflict was unprovoked and a “premeditated, unjust invasion” and said “the whole world is suffering” as a result of it.
“Inflation exists everywhere now, commodity prices have increased because of grain and fertiliser not being as available. Energy prices have soared. This has now become something that we all have to pay attention to because of the decision that [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin has made,” she said.
Sherman also affirmed her government’s support for women’s reproductive rights. On a woman’s right to choose whether to have a safe and legal abortion, she said she was “jealous” that women’s reproductive rights were enshrined in SA’s constitution.
Sherman also visited activists in Cape Town and went to a sports campus in Soweto where she spoke to business leaders from American companies about “deepening the US-South Africa trade and investment relationship”.
It was the first visit of a high-level US official since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic over two years ago.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.