South Africa invites Ukraine's Zelensky for state visit

The invite comes at the end of a week which saw Kyiv excluded from US-Russia talks on how to bring an end to the three-year war in Ukraine.

In a phone conversation, Ramaphosa and Zelensky "agreed on the urgent need for an inclusive peace process", according to a statement from the South African president. A sentiment Zelensky echoed by saying "nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine".

South Africa, which has in the past been accused of having a closer relationship with Moscow, has tried to play a role in finding an end to the fighting.

In 2023, Ramaphosa led a delegation consisting of seven African countries, including Egypt, Senegal, Zambia, and Uganda, and met Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

South Africa has historic ties with Russia, and both countries form part of the influential Brics bloc - an alliance of major economies that also includes Brazil, India and China.

Ramaphosa, in a post shared on his X page, said: "I welcome the constructive engagement I had with President [Zelensky] and I look forward to hosting him in South Africa soon for a state visit."

Zelensky, on his part, said he had thanked Ramaphosa for "South Africa's support of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity" in their conversation. "We all hope to achieve a just and lasting peace this year," he added.

Ramaphosa and Zelensky have had regular conversations since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 - and have met in person - but despite Zelensky's interest in a state visit to South Africa, there has been no movement to make this happen until now.

The Ukrainian leader back in December expressed his interest in coming to South Africa during an engagement with African journalists at the International Food Summit, according to South African online publication News24.

"I will be in Pretoria with pleasure, but you must ask Mr Ramaphosa because I think he is more busy," he told the publication.

Zelensky's continued engagement with world leaders comes amid its increasingly tense relationship with the US, which it once considered a key ally.

The tension took a turn for the worse recently when US President Donald Trump accused Zelensky of being a a "dictator" who has "done a terrible job".

South Africa's invite also comes at a time of increasingly strained relations with the US. The Trump administration recently cut off aid to the country over a new land expropriation law.

Ramaphosa has said that his country "will not be bullied".

-BBC