South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he had a conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump focused on bilateral relations and the ongoing war in Ukraine.
- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa had a conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump focused on bilateral relations and the ongoing war in Ukraine.
- President Ramaphosa and President Trump agreed to meet soon to discuss key issues concerning U.S.–South Africa relations.
- Relations between South Africa and the United States have significantly deteriorated since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January.
President Ramaphosa noted that both he and President Trump agreed to meet soon to discuss key issues concerning U.S.–South Africa relations. “We also spoke about the need to foster good relations between our two countries,” Ramaphosa said in a brief statement on X.
Relations between South Africa and the United States have significantly deteriorated since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January.
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The U.S. president expelled South Africa’s ambassador and slashed financial aid, citing his administration’s disapproval of South Africa’s land reform policies and its genocide case against U.S. ally Israel at the International Court of Justice.
In response, the South African government defended the policy as constitutional and noted that it was aimed at correcting racial disparities in land ownership since apartheid’s end in 1994, emphasizing that no expropriations have occurred.
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Call for swift end to Ukraine war
President Ramaphosa also added that he and President Trump agreed on the urgent need to bring the war in Ukraine to an end as quickly as possible.
“I spoke to President @DonaldTrump to discuss the peace process in Ukraine. We both agreed that the war should be brought to an end as soon as possible to stop further unnecessary deaths,” Ramaphosa said.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was forced to cut short his visit to South Africa on Thursday following a Russian missile strike on Kyiv.
Zelenskiy, who has been rallying global support for Ukraine’s defence against Russia’s invasion, said he would return to Ukraine immediately after meeting with President Ramaphosa.
