"We did not expect the war to happen so widely and that Putin would dare to cross the borders … People are very angry at him" (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP) (Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)
Tweeting from his personal account on Thursday night, President Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed that he had spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier in the day, and said that South Africa had been approached to play a “mediation role” in the “conflict” between Russia and Ukraine.
“President Putin appreciated our balanced approach. We believe this position enables both parties to subject the conflict to mediation & negotiation. Based on our relations with the Russian Federation & as a member of BRICS, South Africa has been approached to play a mediation role,” tweeted Ramaphosa.
He thanked Putin for taking his call, saying he had made contact with the Russian leader so that he could “gain an understanding of the situation that was unfolding between Russia and Ukraine”.
“I outlined our position on the conflict that has unfolded as well as our belief that the conflict should be resolved through mediation and negotiation between the parties and – if need be – with the help of agencies that can help bring a solution to the conflict.”
Russia started the invasion of its Eastern European neighbour on 24 February via a series of attacks on airports and military bases.
Dubbed “Putin’s war” in Europe and among some political commentators, but a “special military operation” by Putin, the invasion has, according to the United Nations, led to over two million people fleeing the democratic state.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner (OHCHR) said on Thursday that between 24 February and 9 March, it had recorded 1506 civilian casualties as a result of the invasion. Of the 549 killed, 41 were children. Of the 957 injured, 52 were children.
“Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multi-launch rocket systems, and missile and air strikes,” according to an OHCHR statement.
“OHCHR believes that the actual figures are considerably higher, especially in government-controlled territory and especially in recent days, as the receipt of information from some locations where intense hostilities have been going on has been delayed and many reports are still pending corroboration.”
Ramaphosa’s administration has been accused of taking a “fence sitting” approach to the war, a result of the governing ANC’s historical ties to Moscow. Last week, the country abstained from a vote during an emergency special session of the UN that demanded Russia immediately withdraw its forces from Ukraine.
Ramaphosa said on Monday via his weekly newsletter that South Africa abstained from voting “because the resolution did not foreground the call for meaningful engagement”.
“Even prior to the resolution being passed at the UN last week, talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials had already started. South Africa expected that the UN resolution would foremost welcome the commencement of 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,” said Ramaphosa.