International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola. Photo: Phill Magakoe/Gallo Images
International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola has downplayed the absence of a “family photo” of the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Summit in Johannesburg, attributing the cancellation to logistical constraints rather than foreign ministers not wanting to stand next to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
This comes after several Western diplomats refused to be in the group photo with Levrov.
Responding to questions from journalists on Friday, Zane Dangor, the international affairs department director-general, said there was no photo op because of time constraints and not political tensions.
“We did set it up, but the time ran out. So, I’m not sure about the other discussions that have taken place,” he said, adding that the parties did not take photos when they were in Brazil last year.
Sources close to the matter said European Union member states deliberately avoided the photo session to distance themselves from Lavrov.
South African officials were reportedly unaware of the decision, which led to confusion when the session was abruptly called off.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who is said to have exited the room while Lavrov was addressing it, said he was not interested in hearing fabrications from Russia.
“You know, mature countries learn from their colonial failures and wars, and Europeans have had much to learn over the generations and the centuries. But I’m afraid to say that Russia has learned nothing,” he said in remarks released by his office.
“I listened carefully to Minister Lavrov’s intervention just now. I was hoping to hear some sympathy for the innocent victims of the aggression. I was hoping to hear some readiness to seek a durable peace.
“What I heard was the logic of imperialism dressed up as realpolitik, and I say to you all, we should not be surprised, but neither should we be fooled.”
Lavrov, in turn, accused Western nations of provoking conflicts and manipulating global economics.
“The West’s anti-Russia sanctions, augmented by terrorist attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines, are a convincing example,” Lavrov said.
“This has seriously impaired the competitive potential of those who initiated unlawful restrictions, primarily the EU. Apart from the West’s economic miscalculations, all this has slowed down global growth rates, provoked inflation, market setbacks and undermined the Global South’s development.”
The standoff between Lavrov and Lammy comes as South Africa, which maintains neutrality in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, announced plans to invite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to South Africa to discuss an “inclusive peace process”.
On Thursday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said he would welcome Zelenskiy on his first visit to the African continent.
Andriy Yermak, head of Zelenskiy’s office, confirmed that diplomatic channels had conveyed South Africa’s willingness to host the Ukrainian leader.
Dirco confirmed that because of ICC’s warrant of arrest, Russian President Vladimir Putin would not attend the G20 summit in November
Lamola said Zelenskiy’s invitation fits into South Africa’s call for unity for all, adding that this extends to African nations that are looking for peace and unity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
He said that although South Africa differed with the US on many fronts, it has supported America’s decision to impose financial sanctions on James Kabarebe, the Rwandan minister of state for regional integration, for his alleged role in backing the M23 armed group in the DRC.
This is despite US President Donald Trump cutting off aid to South Africa and the treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, snubbing the foreign ministers’ meeting.
The move comes as M23 rebels escalate their offensive against the DRC’s armed forces, capturing the city of Goma and seizing key infrastructure, including Kavumu airport and the provincial capital of South Kivu, Bukavu. Thousands have been displaced, and 14 South African troops have been killed during the conflict.
The US treasury department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control also sanctioned M23 senior member Lawrence Kanyuka Kingston and two companies registered in the UK and France. The US government has accused Kabarebe of playing a key role in Rwanda’s alleged support for M23, which has been battling the Congolese army in the eastern DRC.
Chrispin Phiri, spokesperson for the international relations department, said South Africa’s stance against external interference in sovereign states is to ensure that they live peacefully.
“To the extent that we can ensure that we do not have states that sponsor the violation of another state’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, then that’s something that the whole world should rally around. That’s South Africa’s position on it,” he said.
South African soldiers continue to be deployed in the DRC as part of the Southern African Development Community’s peace enforcement mission.
Lamola said the South African government has called for a peaceful resolution to the conflict as regional tensions mount.
Source:
mg.co.za
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