President Cyril Ramaphosa to Reaffirm SA’s Stance on Russia-Ukraine Conflict During US Trip, Pandor says

Tuesday, September 13, 2022 at 10:48 AM by Lerato Mutsila

President Cyril Ramaphosa will be travelling to the US after US president Extended an invitation for a White House meeting
Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Naledi Pandor, said the president would reavow SA's position of non-alignment in discussion with President Biden
Pandor reiterated that SA seeks to have a peaceful and dialogue-driven resolution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict

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PRETORIA - President Cyril Ramaphosa will be heading to the United States, where he is expected to reaffirm South Africa's non-aligned stance and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

US President Joe Biden and Cyril Ramaphosa — President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to reiterate SA's position of neutrality on the Russia-Ukraine conflict during his upcoming trip to the White House. Image: Leon Neal / POOL / AFP
Source: Getty Images

Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor suggested this at a media briefing on Monday, 12 September.

News24 reported that Pandor said Ramaphosa would not waver or budge from SA's position that the war must be resolved through peaceful, dialogue-driven means.

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Pandor said that the invitation was extended by US president Joe Biden through US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken when he was in Pretoria during a visit in August.

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President Ramaphosa is expected to travel to the US to hold talks with Biden at the White House on Friday, 16 September.

Pandor said the two leaders are expected to discuss matters of mutual interest on the bilateral, regional, and global levels. They will also pay attention to trade and investment issues, climate change, food security, energy access, and international peace and stability.

According to BusinessTech, Ramaphosa and his delegation will also meet with congressional leaders and civil rights veterans who were pivotal in pushing Americans against apartheid and remain committed to the cause of anti-racism in both nations.

South Africans react to President Ramaphosa's planned trip to the US

South Africans don't think the US will take SA's non-aligned stance on the Russia-Ukraine war lightly.

Here are some comments:

@trest_james said:

"Lol, Good luck, Americans dont take "non-alignment" lightly."

@Michael62581391 added:

"The world is laughing at SA! Anything you say will have 0 impact on the global stage"

@soundbytte suggested:

"Stay home- fix ESKOM FFS."

@saltyseedogza commented:

"Speak for yourself! Support Ukraine all the way Viva Ukraine!!!"

@bakgethile_K posted"

"He failed to take a side, but he has the balls to reaffirm us nxxx"

@s_inggs added:

"Fence sitter"

Defence Minister Thandi Modise went head to head with DA MP Dean Macpherson over Russia trip

In related news, Briefly News reported that the National Assembly descended into chaos once again after a verbal altercation broke out during Wednesday's sitting, 31 August.