Ukraine’s diplomatic push in SA ‘a bid to erode Russia’s support base’

In what an expert believes is an attempt by Ukraine to sway South Africa away from its support for Russia, Kyiv is pushing for Ukraine and South Africa to revive their old struggle era ties and has offered to assist the country to grow its economy and food security.

As part of the then Soviet Union, Ukraine supported the ANC’s resistance against apartheid including training many of the uMkhonto we Sizwe cadres. But since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, there has been no real interaction between the two countries until the Ukrainian-Russian war broke out early last year.

ALSO READ: Ukraine moves to ban Moscow-linked Orthodox Church

Yesterday, Ukraine Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba paid a special visit to International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor in Pretoria to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries.

Bid to get SA ‘in Ukraine’s corner’

But political analyst Dr Jan Venter said this was an attempt by Ukraine to win South Africa over so that it moved away from Russia.

ALSO READ: Ukraine left out in cold by US shutdown deal

“This is an effort to erode the support base of Russia and may be to get South Africa into Ukraine’s corner,” Venter said.

Venter said Russia may have material and infrastructure but it did not have moral support internationally and Ukraine might have been advised to talk to South African so as to isolate Russia.

Kuleba regretted the lull that existed in the relationship between the two countries due to Ukraine’s having to spend time to consolidate itself as a separate non-Soviet country.

“Historically, Ukraine has been on the side of Africa and we supported South Africa’s efforts to attain democracy,” Kuleba said.

In addition to this, Ukraine is an observer in the Southern Africa Development Community and Kuleba said they intend to strengthen ties with the continent and help to develop it.

He has already visited a number of other African countries recently. Kuleba praised South Africa’s “priceless solidarity” for Ukraine in the ongoing war with Russia.

ALSO READ: Kremlin says ‘friction’ between Ukraine, Europe ‘inevitable’

Pandor described the talks as “excellent” and Kuleba said the discussions were frank.

“No-one is holding a knife behind another’s back, we had frank and bold talks,” Kuleba said.

‘Punching above its weight’

The talks were preceded by interaction between President Cyril Ramaphosa and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.

Besides the African Peace Initiative, Pandor said Ramaphosa’s security and legal advisors respectively had been participating in efforts by China and Türkiye to facilitate peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian-Russian war.

ALSO READ: Ukraine victory ‘depends on our co-operation,’ Zelensky tells EU ministers

Kuleba stressed the statement that was made by Zelensky’s advisor on social media that Africa was “punching above its weight” in its attempt to mediate in the Ukrainian-Russian war was not a Ukrainian official view and it did not reflect Zelensky’s viewpoint.

The advisor tweeted this after the African visit led by Ramaphosa to try and find a lasting peaceful resolution to the conflict.

The high-level visit by Kuleba, the first by a Ukrainian foreign minister since 1998, is seen by many as a vote of confidence in South Africa’s efforts to end the conflict by peaceful means.

Observers believe Kyiv could have realised the significance of South Africa’s role in the African Peace Initiative to end the conflict and its strength in Africa’s affairs in general. Some said Ukraine was losing the war on the battlefield and was therefore trying to find an alternative solution.

Some American lawmakers were opposed to the US to continue sponsoring the war while Washington was faced with massive financial crisis.

Meanwhile, Pandor confirmed she called in the Israeli ambassador to South Africa for a tongue-lashing because of his utterances on SA’s stance on the Israel-Hamas war.

“We felt it important that we should call the ambassador in,” said Pandor. “There seems to be a strange practice among some ambassadors in South Africa, that they can just say what they like. I don’t know if it’s because we’re an African country but it’s something that we should not tolerate.”

ALSO READ: External forces prolonging conflict in Israel-Palestine and Ukraine-Russia

South Africa also yesterday recalled its diplomatic mission stationed in Tel Aviv in protest at the genocide by Israel in Gaza. She condemned Israel’s “collective punishment” of innocent Palestinians in the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza.

– ericn@citizen.co.za