President Cyril Ramaphosa has held a series of telephone calls with European leaders on the Russia-Ukraine peace efforts.
The calls, which were held on Saturday, follow recent meetings hosted by US President Donald Trump with his counterparts from Russia Vladimir Putin, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy and several other European leaders.
“President Ramaphosa spoke to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, President Emmanuel Macron of France and President Alexandar Stubb of Finland.
Additional calls with other European leaders will follow in the coming days and weeks.
President Ramaphosa also appreciated the briefing he received last week from President Vladimir Putin following his meeting with President Trump,” said the presidency spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya.
According to Magwenya, the European leaders openly shared their perspectives, appreciated South Africa’s role in engaging with both sides to the conflict.
Furthermore, he said that the leaders also provided Ramaphosa with a firm commitment to supporting efforts aimed at ending the war between Russia and Ukraine.
“President Ramaphosa stressed the urgency of holding bilateral and trilateral meetings between the leaders of Russia and Ukraine and the United States as key to signal a firm commitment to ending the war.
President Ramaphosa calls on all parties to seize this moment and sustain the momentum towards peace between Russia and Ukraine,” added Magwenya. Meanwhile, Ramaphosa earlier this month received briefings from Putin and Zelenskyy, who both “expressed their appreciation for South Africa’s continued support in finding a peaceful resolution to the conflict.”
