President Cyril Ramaphosa has said that South Africa has been approached to play a mediation role in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Ramaphosa did not say who had made the approach, but said he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday and urged him to seek a mediated solution to the conflict.
“President Putin appreciated our balanced approach. We believe this position enables both parties to subject the conflict to mediation and negotiation. Based on our relations with the Russian Federation and as a member of Brics, South Africa has been approached to play a mediation role,” Mr Ramaphosa posted on Twitter.
South Africa’s position on the conflict came under the spotlight last week after it abstained from voting on a UN resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Mr Ramaphosa said the country abstained because “the resolution did not foreground the call for meaningful engagement”, and accused the UN Security Council of being unable to discharge its responsibility to maintain peace and security.
He added that South Africa’s response to the war was not an indication that it had no regard for human rights.
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