President Cyril Ramaphosa has once again pushed government’s mediation stance in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and called on both countries to reach an agreement that will lead to the cessation of hostilities.

Ramaphosa said the reason why South Africa declined to support the United Nations (UN) resolution against Russia was because it did not focus on the call for meaningful engagement.

Last week, the UN General Assembly voted on a resolution demanding Russia stop its war against Ukraine. Thirty-nine nations, including South Africa, abstained from the vote. 141 of 193 UN member States voted for the non-binding resolution. Five countries voted against the resolution.

Political parties have criticised South Africa for its decision to abstain.

Ramaphosa said since the outbreak of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, South Africa’s position has been to affirm peace.

He explained that prior to the resolution being passed at the UN last week, talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials had already started, adding that South Africa expected that the UN resolution would welcome dialogue between the parties and seek to create the conditions for these talks to succeed.

“Instead, the call for peaceful resolution through political dialogue is relegated to a single sentence close to the conclusion of the final text. This does not provide the encouragement and international backing that the parties need to continue with their efforts,” he said.

Ramaphosa said whatever agreements are brokered must be sustainable in the long run and address the concerns of both parties to the conflict.

He said South Africa’s own experience with ending apartheid, and the country’s role in mediating conflict elsewhere on the continent, have yielded a number of insights.

“The first is that even the most seemingly intractable differences can be resolved at the negotiating table. The second is that even as talks may collapse, they can and do resume, as was the case in our own negotiating process. And that even when it seems the parties cannot see eye to eye, breakthroughs can and do happen,” added Ramaphosa.

Ramaphosa explained that for South Africa to continue to support the call for negotiation and dialogue does not render its commitment to human rights any less, noting that since the outbreak of the conflict South Africa has expressed its concern about the impact of the conflict on civilians. 

“Our country is committed to advancing the human rights and fundamental freedoms not only of our own people, but for the peoples of Palestine, Western Sahara, Afghanistan, Syria and across Africa and the world. It is our hope that negotiations between Russia and Ukraine yield positive outcomes that pave the way for an end to the conflict,” he said.