Photo Credit: Getty Images
President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa has invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for a state visit, confirmed via a post on X. The announcement follows a week in which Ukraine was excluded from US-Russia talks on the ongoing war. Both leaders "agreed on the urgent need for an inclusive peace process" during a phone conversation, with Zelensky emphasizing, "nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine."
South Africa, which has in the past been accused of having a closer relationship with Moscow, has tried to play a role in finding an end to the fighting.
South Africa has historic ties with Russia, and both countries form part of the influential Brics bloc - an alliance of major economies that also includes Brazil, India and China.
Ramaphosa, in a post shared on his X page, said: "I welcome the constructive engagement I had with President [Zelensky] and I look forward to hosting him in South Africa soon for a state visit."
Zelensky, on his part, said he had thanked Ramaphosa for "South Africa's support of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity" in their conversation. "We all hope to achieve a just and lasting peace this year," he added.
Ramaphosa and Zelensky have had regular conversations since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 - and have met in person - but despite Zelensky's interest in a state visit to South Africa, there has been no movement to make this happen until now.
The Ukrainian leader back in December expressed his interest in coming to South Africa during an engagement with African journalists at the International Food Summit, according to South African online publication News24.
"I will be in Pretoria with pleasure, but you must ask Mr Ramaphosa because I think he is more busy," he told the publication.
Zelensky's continued engagement with world leaders comes amid its increasingly tense relationship with the US, which it considers a key ally.
The tension took a turn for the worse this week when Trump accused Zelensky of being a "dictator" who has "done a terrible job".
