Russian President Vladimir Putin and South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa (R) during their meeting at the Constantine (Konstantinovsky) Palace in Strelna, outside Saint Petersburg. Picture: Ramil Sitdikov /Ria Novosti/AFP
Cape Town - President Cyril Ramaphosa will not be deterred by the attempted mutiny in Russia and will continue with his involvement in mediation initiatives.
Ramaphosa led a group of African leaders to Ukraine and Russia where they engaged with presidents Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin.
At the weekend, the Wagner Group marched on Rostov-on-Don and was on its way to Moscow when they pulled back. The paramilitary group had claimed that the march was a protest.
The president of Belarus had intervened in the matter and the Wagner Group stopped its “march of justice.”
Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, said the attempted mutiny by the Wagner soldiers would not have a bearing on the current peace initiatives.
He said the issue has now been resolved and the focus of the president was to continue with the peace process.
Ramaphosa, alongside leaders from the Comoros, Senegal, Zambia, Uganda, Egypt and Congo-Brazzaville, took part in the talks with Zelensky and Putin recently.
The parties agreed that this was the start of more engagements between all sides.
Ramaphosa had said the African leaders were the first group to speak to both Zelensky and Putin at almost the same time.
Magwenya said the attempted mutiny by Yevgeny Prigozhin and his Wagner fighters would not deter the president from continuing with his peace mission in Russia and Ukraine.
“As you know, that issue, from the reports that we have, has been resolved. It has had no impact whatsoever on our preparations to host the BRICS summit, neither has it had an impact with respect to the African peace mission.
“There is a roadmap that follows the initial engagements that were held in Kyiv and St Petersburg. The African heads of state that are part of this initiative will continue with the roadmap and engage with Putin and Zelensky,” said Magwenya.
Further engagements with both Zelensky and Putin are expected in the next few weeks.
The African leaders will meet with Putin during the Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg in July.
Ramaphosa said they will meet with Zelensky in the intervening period.
The president had said after their trip to Kyiv and St Peteresburg they did not expect the conflict to be resolved overnight.
But the African leaders will continue to engage with the two leaders as they believe a deal can be struck at the end.
siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za
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