Putin’s calls to Ramaphosa signify the importance of SA-Russia relations

By Abbey Makoe

This week, Russian President Vladimir Putin called his South African counterpart, President Cyril Ramaphosa. The purpose of the telephone call was crystal clear and straight to the point. The Kremlin sought to brief Pretoria, first hand, about President Putin’s views over his recent globally publicized face-to-face talks with US President Donald Trump in Alaska.

A statement from President Ramaphosa’s office made it clear that South Africa valued Russia’s gesture of taking the time to personally update President Ramaphosa on the Alaska summit and discuss the next steps.

President Ramaphosa’s office explained in a statement: “President Putin expressed satisfaction with the manner in which his talks with President Trump proceeded and the emerging alignment on the peace process.”

The statement concluded by revealing how both Presidents Putin and Trump “pledged to maintain open lines of communication and to continue their cooperation on issues of their bilateral interests”.

The Kremlin’s call to President Ramaphosa shows how much Russia values its relationship with South Africa. This is an important development as the global order continues to change quickly.

President Putin actually called President Ramaphosa twice in ten days. The only explanation one can deduce from the frequency of the calls is that Russia continues to see SA as an important ally despite some regrettable missteps in the relationship in recent times.

Russia plays a major role in global affairs. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio highlighted Russia’s significance as a nuclear power. Unlike some European countries that take a hostile approach, the US has chosen to negotiate over the Ukraine conflict. Washington should be recognized for avoiding a military clash with Russia. The Trump administration’s decision to pursue diplomacy has likely prevented many needless deaths.

Strategic ties between Russia and SA date back many decades, at the height of apartheid, when the Soviet Union offered to give its backing to Africa’s liberation movements, including the ANC and the SA Communist Party.

In fact, two of SA’s prominent freedom fighters – Moses Kotane and JB Marks- died in the 1970s whilst in exile in Russia and were given heroes’ burials on the outskirts of Moscow, the capital. Their graves were categorized by the Russians as special sites of historical significance. During President Jacob Zuma’s tenure, the remains of both Kotane and Marks were exhumed with the assistance of the Russians and repatriated back to SA, where they were given state reburials in their villages of origin.

Kotane was laid to rest in Phela village outside Swartruggens in the North West and Marks in Ventersdorp, also in the North West province. Back in Moscow, the Russian government maintained its former grave sites as special heritage areas and a permanent reminder of the special bond between the two nations that remains intact despite modern-day challenges.

I believe it is in South Africa’s best interest to strengthen its relationship with Russia today. Experts in international relations agree that Russia plays a key role globally. Too often, South Africa has faced pressure from the West to distance itself from Russia, and too often, it has given in.

Worrying examples of this trend in recent memory are plentiful. What comes easily to mind is the August 2023 BRICS Summit that was held in Sandton when SA prevaricated before confirming that President Putin would not attend the summit in person. It further transpired that SA’s judicial authorities were likely to arrest the Russian president due to the controversial warrant of arrest issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in relation to the Ukraine war.

The ICC has proven beyond any reasonable doubt that it is a Western tool aimed at dealing mainly with African leaders and a few others elsewhere. If the activities of the ICC are at odds with SA’s national interest, the recognition of the ICC needs to be rescinded. Leading nations in world affairs are not signatories to the Rome Statute. They include the US, Russia and China, among others.

Another misstep that Pretoria took was to invite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to SA amid pomp and ceremony in April. Many in BRICS and across the Global South were taken aback as they held the view that President Zelensky’s state visit to SA was as ill-timed as it was ill-advised. There can be no doubt that in the background, Russia still feels deeply hurt and disappointed about SA’s handling of the situation.

South Africa’s foreign policy is officially non-aligned, as both the Presidency and DIRCO often point out. Pretoria must carefully balance its diplomatic relationships. While the country was once closely tied to the West, especially during colonial and apartheid times, the ANC-led government should not hesitate to maintain strong ties with old allies like Russia, who supported the ANC during the struggle for liberation. South Africa should make these choices confidently.

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It is vitally important that a former liberation movement such as the ANC never forgets its days of small of beginnings, during the dark days when friends were too few, they could be counted on one hand only.

SA and Russia are important partners, particularly in BRICS, a rapidly growing strategic pole of power in world politics. Collaboration and cooperation between Moscow and Pretoria need to be a non-negotiable, more so when it is questioned by the Western powers that supported the minority apartheid regime that classified the ANC as a terrorist organization.

The Western powers that SA often feels the urge to please are too happy to treat SA as just another Third World country. As a result of tariffs, threats to be kicked out of AGOA and IMF loans are but some in a long list of traps that SA has to navigate. The EU, too, has lately sought to move closer to Pretoria after its relations with the Trump administration grew sour over several geopolitical differences.

I am not at all calling for relations with the West to be abandoned by Pretoria. Instead, I’d like to see Pretoria being the master of her own destiny, just as Mandela insisted that the West cannot and should not dictate who SA’s friends should be.

*Abbey Makoe is Founder and Editor-in-Chief: Global South Media Network (gsmn.co.za) The views expressed are his own.