Blitz Bureau
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 7 on the Ukraine crisis and issues of bilateral interest, Ramaphosa’s office said in a statement. “The discussion followed President Putin’s request to brief President Ramaphosa on the peace process with Ukraine and to engage on issues of mutual bilateral interest,” the statement said.
Putin met U.S President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow on August 6, after which the Kremlin said a summit between Putin and Trump could take place as early as next week. Trump, pressing for an end to the 3-1/2-year war, had set a deadline that expired on August 8 for Russia to agree to peace or face new sanctions on Moscow and countries that buy Russian exports. China and India are the biggest buyers of Russian oil. Trump said in a social media post that he will meet with Putin on August 15 in Alaska to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.
Addressing reporters at the White House earlier, Trump suggested an agreement would involve some exchange of land. “There’ll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both,” the Republican president said. Ramaphosa expressed South Africa’s “full support to peace initiatives that will end the war and contribute to a lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine.” Ramaphosa has consistently emphasized the need for peaceful solutions and dialogue, positioning South Africa as a potential mediator between the West and Russia.
On August 6 Ramaphosa called Trump to discuss various issues including trade. Russia, China, India, South Africa and the UAE are all members of the BRICS group of countries which Moscow sees as a counterweight to U.S. political and economic dominance.
