APA-Pretoria (South Africa) South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is attending the two-day Russia-Africa Summit which started on Thursday in the Russian city of St Petersburg, his spokesperson Vincent Magwenya has said.
Ramaphosa’s visit to the country is the second in just over a month following a court ruling in which government was compelled to act on an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for Russian President Vladimir Putin should he ever set foot on South African soil.
Magwenya said there was no external pressure for South Africa not to attend the summit due to this.
“We were not placed under any pressure,” he said.
He added: “Many countries on the continent manage and execute independent foreign policies, and the continent has a right to do so as we have a relationship with many other countries – including western countries.”
He said that Putin would sit down with the African leaders to discuss a peace agreement linked to the ongoing war, adding that it was disappointing that that the Russia-Ukrainian war continued on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa summit.
“There will be further discussions on the African peace initiative as well the 10-point plan focusing particularly on confidence-building measures that are required from both sides to achieve peace,” Magwenya said.
Only 17 African leaders are attending the gathering compared to 43 leaders who joined the first summit in 2019, according to the high office.
NM/jn/APA