SA’s bias towards Moscow has severely damaged our reputation

It took just under two months, but President Cyril Ramaphosa has finally called his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, to discuss the Russian invasion.

There was no such delay when Ramaphosa called Vladimir Putin within days of the invasion, though…

The ANC government has made it crystal clear where its sympathies lie when it comes to this European conflict.

It has not condemned the Russian invasion, which is widely regarded as a violation of international law.

Ramaphosa himself, however, has gone as far as blaming the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) for creating the circumstances which led up to the war, through antagonising Russia.

The call to Zelensky was a bit of a surprise, especially given the public spat recently between the government – via foreign affairs spokesperson Clayson Monyela – and Ukraine’s ambassador to South Africa, Liubov Abravitova.

She was accused of trying to pressure SA via the media into speaking to Ukraine.

The phone call might been a sign of Ramaphosa and the ANC recognising the realities of the world.

Those realities are that the loyalties of the Cold War – which grew between the ANC and Moscow – are increasingly irrelevant in the 21st century.

Also, the ANC’s membership of the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) notwithstanding, this country’s trade with the West (the US and European Union, as well as the UK) far exceeds its trade with Russia.

The West might not be beyond punishing those countries it perceives as allies of Putin – even though South Africa has so far abstained from voting on UN resolutions condemning Russia, rather that voting in favour of Moscow.

Our clear bias towards Moscow has severely damaged our reputation as a truly nonaligned country and probably ruined any chance we may have had of taking the “honest broker” position as a peace negotiator.