By John Ikani
Former President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma has backed President Vladimir Putin in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, describing him as “a man of peace”.
In a statement released by the JG Zuma Foundation, Zuma said Putin’s decision was “justifiable”, adding that Russia was a victim of western countries’ “bullying tactics”.
He went on to note that the Russian President has been very patient with the western forces.
“He (Putin) has been crystal clear about his opposition of the eastern expansion of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) into Ukraine among other areas and is on record about the military threat posed to Russia by the presence of these forces …on his door-step,” the Zuma foundation said.
“We all need peace in this world. Therefore we would like to urge those involved to bring peace as swiftly as possible so that lives can be saved.”
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Like many other members of South Africa’s Ruling African National Congress (ANC), Zuma reportedly received training in the then Soviet Union during the struggle against apartheid and he revived his country’s relationship with Russia during his 10 years as president, including joining BRICS.
Also, Zuma’s support for Putin was to be expected after South Africa abstained from a United Nations (UN) vote condemning Russia’s aggression, as parts of the ANC are reluctant to support the West’s response to the invasion, with other party allies blaming the conflict squarely on the US and the West.
While President Cyril Ramaphosa has not voiced support for Russia, which is considered an ally of the ANC, he however made it clear that the South African government would not be part of countries condemning Russia.
Writing in his weekly letter on Monday, Ramaphosa also explained why South Africa did not vote in favour of a UN resolution condemning Russia.
“South Africa abstained from voting in last week’s United Nations resolution on the escalating conflict between Russia and its neighbour Ukraine because the resolution did not foreground the call for meaningful engagement.”
“South Africa expected that the UN resolution would foremost welcome the commencement of dialogue between the parties and seek to create the conditions for these talks to succeed,” he said.
Ramaphosa’s position on the Russia/Ukraine conflict is at odds with an initial statement issued by the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) on the war between the two countries.
When the war started two weeks ago, International Relations and Cooperation Minister, Naledi Pandor, urged Russia to “immediately withdraw from Ukraine”.
However, her department has since changed its tune after Ramaphosa allegedly expressed unhappiness over its stance.
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