Cape Town - Deputy Minister of International Relations and Co-operation Candith Mashego-Dlamini has insisted that South Africa is calling for a peaceful solution to the conflict raging in Ukraine and for UN Secretary-General António Guterres to be involved.
This is the stance that Mashego-Dlamini took more than a week ago when ministers in the Security Cluster were answering questions in Parliament.
However, during the debate on the Ukraine conflict on Tuesday, Mashego-Dlamini reiterated the call that South Africa has made for Ukraine and Russia to find a solution.
President Cyril Ramaphosa stated this position when he revealed last week that he had a telephone discussion with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.
On Tuesday, Mashego-Dlamini said the position of South Africa remained and that is for the peaceful solution.
“The door of diplomacy should never be closed even as conflict has broken out. South Africa urges all parties to approach the situation in a spirit of compromise, with all sides respecting international law. A peaceful resolution of the matter can be achieved, by all parties, if diplomatic efforts to find a solution to the concerns raised and expressed by Russia resume,” she said.
She said the Office of the UN Secretary-General must be involved in diplomatic efforts to rescue the situation.
Ramaphosa had also called for the UN Security Council to take a lead in diplomatic efforts between Russia and Ukraine.
Mashego-Dlamini said the two sides must be brought together with a view to finding a solution.
“As the government of South Africa, we urge all South Africans not to take sides in the conflicts between Russia and Ukraine, as this could go against our principles. In addition, South Africa has a good bilateral relations with both countries,” said Mashego-Dlamini.
Political Bureau