Ramaphosa speaks to Zelenskiy

President Cyril Ramaphosa spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a phone call and called for a negotiated end to the conflict with Russia, Ramaphosa said on Thursday.

“We agree on the need for a negotiated end to the conflict which has impacted Ukraine’s place in global supply chains, including its position as a major exporter of food to our continent,” Ramaphosa wrote on Twitter.

Zelenskiy said on Twitter that he told Ramaphosa about Ukraine’s resistance to Russian aggression and discussed the threat of a global food crisis.

Ramaphosa has resisted calls to condemn Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, and last month blamed military alliance NATO for not heeding warnings about its eastward expansion.

South Africa has close historical ties to Moscow because of the Soviet Union’s support for the anti-apartheid struggle and sees itself as a champion of the non-aligned movement.