By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa opened a Group of 20 foreign ministers meeting in Joahnnesburg with a call for “cooperation” amid geopolitical tensions and “rising intolerance”.
A curtain-raiser to the G20 summit in November, the meeting was attended by top diplomats including Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, his Chinese and Indian counterparts as well as European envoys like France’s Jean-Noel Barrot and Britain’s David Lammy.
The meeting took place following a growing concern about the Donald Trump administration’s “America First” policy, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio boycotting the meeting and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying he will not attend next week’s gathering of G20 finance ministers.
Trump has cut aid to the country, accusing it of “unjust and immoral practices” against the white minority Afrikaner community and by filing a genocide case against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in December 2023.
Ramaphosa said the country will work to “iron out wrinkles” in its relationship with the US, adding that the absence of Washington’s top diplomat from Group of 20 meetings in Johannesburg isn’t ‘a boycott as other US representatives are around.”
“We will continue to find ways, avenues and means through which we can continue relating to each other,” Ramaphosa said.
He added that South Africa has resolved to use diplomatic processes to deal with issues that “may have appeared in our relationship.”
World leaders have been split on how to respond to the dramatic policy shifts from Washington since Trump returned to power last month.
Ramaphosa said South Africa remained committed to diplomatic conflict resolution, citing the country’s history of successful negotiations.
He welcomed the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, describing it as a critical step towards alleviating the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Israel and Hamas agreed on a deal that will halt the war in Gaza and see the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.
“This ceasefire must lay the basis for a just and lasting peace in line with UN resolutions, international law and internationally agreed parameters. As the G20, we must continue to advocate for diplomatic solutions,” he said.
He added that the ceasefire must lay the basis for a just and lasting peace in line with UN resolutions, international law and internationally agreed parameters.
“As the G20, we must continue to advocate for diplomatic solutions. Our own experience as South Africa is that the peaceful resolution of conflict through inclusive dialogue is the foremost guarantor of sustainable, lasting peace.”
South Africa is the first African state to lead the G20, hoping to advance the interests of developing nations in talks with the world’s richest states.
The G20 consists of 19 countries, along with the African Union (AU) and European Union (EU), and makes up more than 80% of the global economy and two-thirds of the world population.
South Africa holds the G20 presidency until November 2025, when it is expected to hand it over to the US.
Meanwhile Ramaphosa has invited President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to South Africa for a state visit and is hoping it will happen soon, his office said this week while the US sidelined and insulted the Ukrainian leader.
The formal invitation was extended on 15 January, and followed meetings between Ramaphosa and Zelenskiy on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September and the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos in November.
Confirmation of the invitation came after the US began peace talks with Russia on the war in Ukraine on Tuesday and Trump signalled that he may abandon long-standing US military and financial support for Kyiv.
Ukraine was not invited to that meeting in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, and Zelenskey’s pleas for a meeting with Trump and some coordination prior to talks with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin were shunned.
This prompted apprehension not only in Ukraine but in Europe that the Trump administration was moving to foist a peace accord on Zelenskey that favours Putin, a perception that firmed as the week wore on.