Ramaphosa to Putin: weak economy means SA can’t sign nuclear deal yet

Russian President Vladimir Putin raised the issue of a nuclear power deal at a private meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in Johannesburg on Thursday, but his host said Pretoria could not sign such a deal for now, Ramaphosa’s spokeswoman said.

“Our economy is stagnant, it is not growing at the rate that we want it to, so while we remain committed to an energy mix that includes nuclear,South Africa is not yet at the point where it is able to sign on the dotted line,” Ramaphosa’s spokeswoman Khusela Diko said. 

Read related: SA opens door to future Russian nuclear deal, Russia’s Rosatom ‘still interested’ in nuclear power generation in SA.