South Africa Pres Tells Putin His Gov't Continues To Work On Peace Plan

The Kremlin has confirmed that President Vladimir Putin held a phone call with his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa in which they discussed the situation in Ukraine. The Kremlin news service reports that “Taking into account the well-known peace initiative of African states to resolve the Ukrainian crisis, Cyril Ramaphosa informed of South Africa’s intention to continue work in this area, taking into account legitimate Russian interests,”

• Earlier in March, South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor, speaking at a Carnegie Endowment event in Washington, D.C., called for Ukraine to begin peace talks with Russia under a South African-led peace plan. Pandor: “You can’t have a war such as this one and you’re only talking about the peace proposals of one side...We think there has to be a meeting with the Russians, even if it is at the level of advisors...”
• Pandor: “We’re the only country that has gone both to Ukraine and Russia, we’re the only country that remains talking every week to both to say ‘we’ve got to get you in the same room’." She said South Africa was talking to both sides “despite the criticism and the belief that South Africa is partisan [towards Russia]”.
• It is the perception of partisanship (especially in the US and EU) that has seen the African peace plan gain little traction. As a member of the BRICS and following speculation about SA arms shipments to Russia there is little Western faith in a South African peace plan being acceptable to Ukraine.