South Africa and Russia: President Cyril Ramaphosa’s foreign policy explained
January was a busy diplomatic month for South Africa. The country hosted Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and US treasury secretary Janet Yellen. Josep Borrell, vice-president of the European Commission, was also in town.
The biggest talking point, though, has been Lavrov’s visit, which met with criticism in the west. Similarly, the South African-Russian-Chinese joint maritime exercise, Operation Mosi, scheduled for February off the South African Indian Ocean coast. Critics have slammed South Africa’s hosting of the war games in the light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
South Africa has been reticent to criticise Russia openly for invading Ukraine. The country abstained during each vote criticising Russia at the United Nations. Some have read this as tacit support of Russia.
The visits and South Africa’s position on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have put the spotlight on the country’s foreign policy.
I follow, study and have published extensively on South Africa’s foreign policy. In a recent publication, Ramaphosa and a New Dawn for South African Foreign Policy, my co-editors and I point out that South Africa’s voting pattern in these instances should be read in the context of its declared foreign policy under the stewardship of President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Like his predecessors, Ramaphosa’s policy encompasses at least five principles: