By Thys Khiba – South African and American Presidents Cyril Ramaphosa and Joe Biden are expected to discuss efforts to end the war in Ukraine in a Friday meeting at the White House.
Ramaphosa has previously avoided directly condemning Russia and said that the war in Ukraine could have been avoided through United Nations-mediated negotiations rather than Western-led sanctions that hurt “bystander countries.”
South Africa forms part of the 17 African countries to abstain from the UN vote condemning Russia’s assault.
“While it is important to understand and articulate the cause of the conflict and advocate for peace-building measures, we cannot, however, condone the use of force or violation of international law,” said Ramaphosa.
He criticised sanctions imposed on Russia, sending a warning that these may turn out to be the worst decisions. Earlier this year, Ramaphosa blamed NATO’s eastward expansion for regional instability.
A senior Biden administration official confirmed the meeting of the two heads of state and will talk about the conflict in Ukraine.
“The goal is to have a conversation about the conflict in Ukraine: how we got there, and how we get out of it, and hearing from President Ramaphosa about his thoughts on the best way forward, sharing ours on how to manage the conflict and reach a conclusion,” said US official.
Amongst other things to be discussed Biden is expecting Ramaphosa to help him push Russia to sell its oil at below-market rates.
South Africa and America will discuss trade, climate and energy, as America increases talks with African countries on the mentioned topics.
The Russia and Ukraine war, including global inflation has badly affected middle class and poor South Africans. South Africans are faced with high cost of living with increasing food and fuel prices throughout this year.
Debt Rescue confirmed that as a result of the high inflationary market, at least 81% of respondents are cutting down on daily meals as they can no longer afford them.
“The price of basic foodstuffs has risen astronomically over the past year. Accelerating inflation plays a huge role in this as it affects the financial stability of the average consumer. Steep inflation is causing expenditure to increasingly exceed the income of the average person, and people are feeling desperate and out of control financially,” said CEO of Debt Rescue, Neil Roets.
Meanwhile, the decline of natural gas and oil exports from countries that are fighting, has boosted South African coal, a top domestic resource.
Written By Thys Khiba
