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Ramaphosa blames US led NATO for war
18 Mar 2022 at 01:26hrs | Views
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday blamed NATO for the war in Ukraine and said he would resist calls to condemn Russia, in comments that cast doubt over whether he would be accepted by Ukraine or the West as a mediator.
"The war could have been avoided if NATO had heeded the warnings from amongst its own leaders and officials over the years that its eastward expansion would lead to greater, not less, instability in the region," Mr Ramaphosa said in response to questions in parliament.
But he added that South Africa "cannot condone the use of force and violation of international law"
Mr Ramaphosa also revealed that Mr Putin had assured him personally that negotiations were making progress. He also said South Africa had been asked to mediate in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
"There are those who are insisting that we should take a very adversarial stance against Russia. The approach we are going to take (instead) is … insisting that there should be dialogue," Mr Ramaphosa added. "Screaming and shouting is not going to bring an end to this conflict."
"The war could have been avoided if NATO had heeded the warnings from amongst its own leaders and officials over the years that its eastward expansion would lead to greater, not less, instability in the region," Mr Ramaphosa said in response to questions in parliament.
Mr Ramaphosa also revealed that Mr Putin had assured him personally that negotiations were making progress. He also said South Africa had been asked to mediate in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
"There are those who are insisting that we should take a very adversarial stance against Russia. The approach we are going to take (instead) is … insisting that there should be dialogue," Mr Ramaphosa added. "Screaming and shouting is not going to bring an end to this conflict."
Source - Reuters
