Ramaphosa blames Nato for the war in Ukraine

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine intensifies, President Cyril Ramaphosa has blamed Nato for the war in Ukraine.

Ramaphosa was responding to questions by MPs in the National Assembly on Thursday afternoon.

Russia’s war on Ukraine has claimed hundreds of lives as the war enters its fourth week.

In the latest update, rescue workers are still searching for any survivors buried beneath the rubble of Mariupol’s bombed out theatre on Friday morning after Russian forces pounded residential areas across Ukraine staking allegations of war crimes.

Ramaphosa said he would resist calls to condemn Russia insisting on dialogue because ‘war and violence never solves anything’.

“The war could’ve been avoided if Nato had heeded the warnings from amongst its own leaders and officials over the years that its eastward expansion would lead to greater, not less instability in the region.”

The president also took a swipe at the United Nations (UN) and certain member states including criticism of South Africa’s decision to abstain during the recent UN General Assembly vote to condemn Russia for invading Ukraine.

“There is a tendency of the most powerful countries to use their positions as permanent council members to serve their national interests rather than the interest of global peace and stability. The UN Security Council needs to be overhauled.”

Ramaphosa also said South Africa could not condone the use of force and violation of international law.

The president said he had heard from Russian President Vladimir Putin that negotiations between Russia and Ukraine were progressing.

“For us, this is an important development whilst other people scream and shout, we want to focus on the outcome, the positive outcome of those negotiations and that mediation process, that is what is important.”

Last week the Presidency gave no indication who had asked South Africa to mediate in the Russian/Ukraine conflict and that Ramaphosa had told Putin it should be settled through negotiations.

However, with Ramaphosa’s remarks on Thursday, it is unclear if he would be welcomed to mediate in the conflict by Russia or Ukraine.

South Africa explained its decision to abstain from voting on the Russia-Ukraine conflict at the UN General Assembly saying the conflict involves two members of the UN in an armed conflict, and it is the UN’s responsibility to take decisions and actions that will lead to a “constructive outcome” conducive to the creation of sustainable peace between the parties.

The resolution was adopted after 141 out of 193 member states voted for the non-binding resolution, while South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mali, Namibia and Mozambique voted against the resolution.

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