The SA government has sent teams to Russia and Ukraine to step up peace talks as it moves to shake off the impression of bias towards Moscow in a conflict that has polarised global politics.
President Cyril Ramaphosa will this week dispatch his close allies in government, minister in the presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni and his special envoy Bejani Chauke, to Russia for a high security meeting.
Ntshavheni will attend an international meeting of high-level officials responsible for security matters.
A government official with knowledge of the trip and who spoke to Business Day on condition of anonymity, on Monday said “there are no preconceived ideas” behind the timing of the trip.
“The issues must not be mixed ... SA is not attending for the first time and the minister will be interacting with her counterparts in other countries,” the source said.
The meeting is expected to be attended by high-level officials and will discuss “security matters, general trends in the international security situation including global security”, Ntshavheni’s office said.
Ntshavheni, who is responsible for state security, has also sent a high-level team to Ukraine in preparation for the African-led peace initiative mission to both Moscow and Kyiv scheduled for later this year.
The African leaders’ mission, which according to Ramaphosa has already been endorsed by Russia President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, will involve Zambia, Senegal, Republic of Congo, Uganda, Egypt and SA.
SA faces increasing pressure from its Western trade partners over its perceived closeness with Russia. It has chosen to abstain from voting at the UN against the Russian invasion of Ukraine and adopted the same stance when Russia was expelled from the UN Human Rights Council.
The trip to Russia comes amid an escalation of tension between the US and SA after Washington accused Pretoria of providing weapons to Russia in December 2022. SA and the Russian government have denied the claims.
Soon after the claims were made by US ambassador to SA Reuben Brigety, Ramaphosa announced that an independent inquiry into the allegations would be established and an independent judge appointed to oversee the inquiry. The time-frame and terms of reference of the inquiry and the name of the retired judge have not yet been disclosed by the presidency.
SA has repeatedly said it would not take sides in the year-long conflict, opting to push for a negotiated peace between the two warring countries.
The diplomatic fallout with the US could not have come at a worse time for SA as the country seeks private investment in an energy sector that is battling frequent and longer blackouts that limit economic growth. The ongoing stand-off could harm bilateral trade between the two countries worth about R400bn.
SA, together with Nigeria, Angola, Republic of Congo, Chad, Gabon, Cameroon, Lesotho, Madagascar, Kenya, Swaziland, Mauritius, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana and Malawi, benefits from the lucrative African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), which provides preferential access to US markets. The deal allows sub-Saharan African countries to export thousands of products to the US without tariffs.
The Agoa treaty was initially intended to last for 15 years from 2000 before being extended for a further 10 years ending in September 2025.
Ntshavheni’s three-day trip to Moscow follows a visit to Russia by a military delegation led by SA army chief Lt-Gen Lawrence Mbatha to “boost co-operation in attaining mutual combat readiness” between Moscow and Pretoria.
In a show of neutrality, international relations & co-operation minister Naledi Pandor last week met Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, in Portugal on the sidelines of SA’s diplomatic meeting in Lisbon ahead of the peace mission by African countries to Moscow and Kyiv.
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