Minister Ronald Lamola and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy meet during a meeting at the Table Bay Hotel in Cape Town, South Africa, on November 5, 2024. The talks focused on strengthening ties between South Africa and the UK. (Photo by Brenton Geach/Gallo Images via Getty Images)
South Africa looks forward to continuing to help bring Russian and Ukrainian leaders to the negotiating table, and International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola said this week that South Africa could act as a bridge between Moscow and Kiev. said.
Lamola underlined this point on Tuesday after a meeting with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who chose to visit South Africa and Nigeria on his first official visit to the continent.
Their meeting comes a week after Ramola hosted his Ukrainian counterpart Andriy Sibikha, shortly after returning from the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, where President Cyril Ramaphosa sought to raise the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin. It was done later.
Mr Lamola said he had given Mr Lamy feedback on South Africa's efforts. Mr Sibiha welcomed the possibility of direct talks to end the 30-month war in his country, but Mr Lamola admitted he did not know what the Kremlin's reaction to the proposal would be.
“We will continue to communicate with them, convey their message and act as a bridge to facilitate the peace process between the two countries,” Lamola told a news conference in Cape Town.
“Our non-aligned position gives us the opportunity to do so and requires us to join the Brics platform, which we continue to see as a platform for development. ”
It is certainly understood that Mr Ramaphosa wanted to press Mr Putin to commit to talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but private conversations in Kazan did not go that far. At the summit, Putin remained silent whenever fellow leaders, like China's Xi Jinping, publicly called for peace or a reduction in the conflict with Ukraine.
Russia has advanced rapidly into its territory in recent months, and there are concerns that North Korean troops sent to Russia may be sent to Ukraine.
Lamy said he discussed the development with Lamola during an hour-long meeting in Cape Town.
“During the discussion, I realized that North Korea [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] It is sending troops to Russia to fight in Ukraine, which is a big concern not just for the UK but for Europe as well. ”
He added that the issue was raised a few weeks ago when he was in South Korea.
On Wednesday, Lamy and the foreign ministers of other G7 countries issued the following statement: [North Korea] Directly supporting Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine would not only demonstrate Russia's desperate efforts to make up for its losses, but would also signal a dangerous escalation of the conflict. ”
The communiqué was signed by the G7 members of the United States, Japan, Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Canada, as well as South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
Asked whether he was concerned that the newly expanded BRICS coalition was positioning itself as a counterweight to the West, Lamy acknowledged that he was using the recent summit to demonstrate that the It was further strengthened by President Putin's efforts to demonstrate that his power and influence were undiminished by sanctions and penalties. International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for war crimes.
“On the BRICS issue, other countries will decide on the grouping of clubs they wish to belong to,” he said.
“I have been eager to engage with Minister Lamola as a friend and trusted partner, with whom we can dialogue on matters of mutual interest.”
Lamola added: “As we have said repeatedly, we do not see it as an anti-Western platform.” We see this as an evolving platform that continues to aggregate the interests of the Global South. ”
Mr. Lamy said he had discussed the Middle East with Mr. Lamola, but he took a cautious stance when asked about the genocide case against South Africa's Jewish state, which is pending before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
South Africa last week submitted a memorandum to the ICJ outlining its case against Israel, which President Ramaphosa said contains convincing evidence of violations of the Genocide Convention. . Diplomats have privately welcomed signs that Britain's stance on Israel and Africa is changing under New Labor.
Mr Lamy reversed the previous Conservative government's decision to cut funding to the UN relief agency in Palestine.
And in July, Downing Street announced it would not challenge the ICC's jurisdiction to issue an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, contrary to former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's plans.
“Since coming to power, the Labor Government has passionately emphasized the importance of international humanitarian law, which guides our actions,” Mr Lammy said.
“I regret that we have suspended the sale of weapons that can be used in Gaza, based on our country's very robust export licensing system and my judgment that this may be a violation of international humanitarian law.”
He added: “We are of course taking note of South Africa's proposals and this was also addressed in our bilateral consultations.”
Mr Lamola and Mr Lamy confirmed they had discussed reforming the UN Security Council, which the UK currently holds a rotating presidency. It is understood that these did not extend to whether Britain would support Africa's demand for at least two permanent seats with full veto power.
The current proposal, announced in September, would give the continent two seats without veto power. That's all the US will help with, but the issue is currently the subject of paper-based negotiations in New York.
“These are issues that require careful legal consideration and are understandably given due consideration by the UK Government.
“The UK has a long-standing position that Africa should be represented on the UN Security Council, and I am confident that other members of the Security Council, particularly Russia and China, support the recent position. It is not the UK's position to prevent the enlargement of the UN Security Council in the past.
Mr Lamola dared to say that South Africa and the UK were “united” with the UK on this issue.
He said there was much room for improvement and called for further expansion of trade ties, saying he and Lamola had increased access to finance for developing countries.
South Africa is Britain's biggest trading partner on the continent, but bilateral trade has shrunk slightly in the past year, totaling £10.6 billion (R240 billion).
The government intends to use its upcoming G20 Presidency to strengthen its campaign to reform multilateral institutions to increase its influence in the Global South.
This includes lobbying powerful member states, including the UK, France and Germany, to support expanding African countries' permanent seats on the Security Council, in line with the 2005 Ezulwini Consensus adopted by the African Union. Includes activities.
Britain's Labor government has made strengthening ties with the Global South one of its foreign policy priorities, but Russia and China are also seeking to increase their foothold on the continent. Mr Lamy on Tuesday highlighted the importance of the Commonwealth in the context of close cooperation with African partners.
Britain's Foreign Office said over the weekend that Lamy aims to build “respectful partnerships that listen rather than talk” with African countries.
“We want to listen to what our African partners need and foster relationships so that Britain and our African friends and partners can grow together,” he said.
“Growth is a core mission of this government and will underpin our relationships in Nigeria, South Africa and the rest of the world. It means more prosperity and more opportunities.”
Lamy signed a strategic partnership agreement with Nigeria this week.
