Putin congratulates South Africa’s Ramaphosa on re-election, an indication of warm ties

The New Diplomat
Writer

Ad

NUPENG dues is N7,000 not N54,000, By Owei Lakemfa

By Owei Lakemfa I have, given my experience as a retired labour leader, journalist, patriot and human rights activist, risen in the last few weeks to defend the fundamental rights of workers in the oil industry. I did this because I cannot fold my hands as Dangote Plc dumps huge funds on the mass and…

Ranked: Gas Prices Around the World in 2025

Key Takeaways Fuel prices in Hong Kong rank as the highest globally, at $3.07 per liter in 2025. Several European cities rank among the world’s most expensive for gasoline, driven by energy supply shocks. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia has seen the fastest price increase since 2020 across 69 cities analyzed, with fuel costs up nearly 49%.…

Oil Prices Edge Higher After Steep Two-Day Selloff

Oil prices recovered slightly in early Asian trading on Wednesday after two straight sessions of steep declines, as traders weighed the prospect of a larger OPEC+ output increase against signs of tighter U.S. crude inventories. At the time of writing, Brent futures for December delivery had climbed to $66.17 while WTI was trading at $62.50, up 0.21% on the…

Ad

Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin congratulated South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa on his re-election as president on Monday, reflecting continued good relations with Pretoria despite uncertainty over Moscow’s more than two-year-old invasion of Ukraine.

“Hope was expressed for continued joint work on further strengthening of the partnership between Russia and South Africa in all its aspects,” a statement said on the Kremlin website, referring to Putin’s telephone call to Ramaphosa.
Advertisement · Scroll to continue

Ramaphosa was re-elected by parliament on Friday. But the failure of his African National Congress party to win a majority in last month’s election, for the first time in 30 years, prompted the formation of a government made up – so far – of five parties.

Russia and Ukraine have jostled for support from African nations since the 2022 invasion, with each country’s foreign minister embarking on several of regional tours.

South Africa’s longstanding links with Moscow – as with a number of African states – date back to Soviet times, when Moscow was a prominent backer of liberation movements and the fight to end apartheid, spearheaded by the ANC.

South Africa initially denounced Russia’s February 2022 invasion, but has since adopted a more nuanced position, including abstaining in several votes in the U.N. General Assembly condemning Russian actions.

South Africa attended the Swiss-hosted “peace summit” on Ukraine over the weekend. But it declined to sign the final communique, along with India, Indonesia, Mexico and Saudi Arabia, even though some contentious issues were omitted in the hope of drawing wider support.

South Africa found itself in a dilemma as host of a 2023 meeting of the BRICS grouping of countries and it considered inviting Putin to attend despite a warrant from the International Criminal Court of Justice to arrest the Russian leader on allegations of deportation of Ukrainian children.

Credit: Reuters

Ad

Unlocking Opportunities in the Gulf of Guinea during UNGA80
X whatsapp