By Daanyaal Matthews
President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, is expected to visit the Republic in April. This visit follows the Ukrainian president’s public rejection by the United States and the increased tensions between the United States and the Republic of South Africa after Trump’s executive order halting aid.
The decision to invite the Ukrainian president has, therefore, come as a sudden surprise to onlookers. This is as the Republic has maintained a position of ‘non-alignment’ in relation to the Ukraine-Russia war and ties to the Russian Federation. Doctor Kingsley Makhubela, risk analyst and former diplomat, theorizes that the decision to invite President Zelensky comes from European lobbying.
“I suspect that there has been a lot of lobbying by Western governments. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the heads of state lobbied South Africa to invite Zelensky. To try and demystify this thing of Zelensky’s isolation and spit on the Americans to say that the developing countries are on our side,” theorizes Dr. Makhubela.
The conflict between Ukraine and Russia seems to have no end; however, President Zelensky has come under increased pressure to cede to Russian President Vladimir Putin in negotiations, a notion he has routinely rejected. For Doctor Makhubela, given the enormity of the strife between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States, South Africa is out of place as a mediator.
“This is above South Africa’s pay grade to mediate in the conflict that involves superpowers. I think we are overrating the role that South Africa can play. If you look at the words of the presidency last week, they hope that this visit will lead to peace talks between Ukraine and Russia. What is that?” asks Dr. Makhubela
Listen to the full interview here:
