Thabo Mbeki Speaks on African Peace Mission in Russia and Ukraine, Defends Mzansi’s Neutral Stance

• Former President Thabo Mbeki has weighed in on the recent peace mission to Russia and Ukraine by African leaders
• Mbeki stated that African leaders needed to listen to both sides before presenting a peace deal
• The former president also defended South Africa's natural stance in the war, which made a lot of South Africans angry

JOHANNESBURG - Former President Thabo Mbeki took time from his birthday celebration to speak on the African peace mission to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa, alongside his counterparts from Egypt, DRC, Botswana, Senegal, the Comoros and Uganda, travelled to Ukraine and Russia to broker peace talks between the countries.

Thabo Mbeki hopes African leaders listened to Russia and Ukraine's sides

Mbeki weighed in on the peace mission and said it was imperative for African leaders to listen to Russia and Ukraine's positions on the war.

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Speaking to TimesLIVE, Mbeki said African leaders needed to fully understand the issues before proposing a peace solution.

“I think it is important they should understand what the Russian Federation is saying and what Ukraine is saying to have a full grasp at the matters and issues at hand," said Mbeki.

Mbeki also defended South Africa's non-aligned stance and explained that it is the same stance followed by other African nations.

African leaders return home without a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine

Despite returning to the home counties without a definitive peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, Kyiv has praised the initiative, reports eNCA.

Ukraine's Ambassador to South Africa, Liubov Abravitova, said the peace mission was an important initiative as the country is committed to ending the war.

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"It was a very important initiative from our point of view because it allowed us to show African leaders what's happening on the ground, what are the consequences of the Russian aggression," said Abravitova.

South Africans weigh in on Thabo Mbeki's take on the African peace mission on Russia and Ukraine

@pietpetoors said:

"By pretending to be neutral, the #ANC supports #Russia's imperial ambitions. The anc use historic imperialism and colonialism to drive discord among their own people, but they support Russia's current imperialism."

@ALETTAHA said:

"Well, this is the guy that suggested potatoes and beetroot would cure Aids and condemned 300,000 #SouthAfricans to death because of it. So no, we won't be listening to him either."

@johnmodise said:

"He also said that @CyrilRamaphosa wasted time going there without knowing the 101 steps of resolving conflict."

@katherineantel said:

"Who cares what he thinks about moral issues? His flawed ideology led to countless deaths, in that regard, he and Putin are similar."

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@Julianthompso said:

"Which planet is he living on? We are certainly not non-aligned. We are just not backing Ukraine because we believe that they are west inclined. What does he say about the criminals in Sudan, where the West is brokering a peace deal? Where are your African leaders now."

Ramaphosa tells Putin that war with Ukraine is affecting African countries, citizens weighs in: “Great speech”

Briefly News reported that President Cyril Ramaphosa told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that the conflict with Ukraine was negatively affecting African countries.

The South African president said on Saturday at the 18th-century Konstantinovsky Palace that the war needed to end through diplomatic means and negotiations.

Ramaphosa made his speech during a meeting in St Petersburg, where he detailed the 10 points Russia and Ukraine can consider to end the war, reported SABC News.

Source: Briefly News