South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa is stepping up his diplomacy, engaging President Emmanuel Macron and other European leaders in a renewed drive for peace efforts in Ukraine
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has placed himself more firmly on the diplomatic stage, holding a conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday that touched on the war in Ukraine, the Middle East and other pressing global crises.
Posting on X, Macron said their discussion covered “the war of aggression waged by Russia against Ukraine in the context of Monday’s meeting in Washington, as well as the situation in the Great Lakes region”.
The two leaders agreed to meet again in September on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The exchange with Macron underlines Ramaphosa’s growing role as a mediator as he seeks to rally support from both the Global South and Europe.
Pretoria later confirmed that Ramaphosa, who currently chairs the G20, also spoke with Finnish President Alexander Stubb and will reach out to other European leaders in the weeks ahead.
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'Oil and vinegar'
At the heart of his message is a call for a direct meeting between Kyiv and Moscow.
Earlier on Saturday, Ramaphosa held a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in which he pressed the urgency of “bilateral and trilateral meetings between the leaders of Russia, Ukraine and the United States as key to signal a firm commitment to ending the war”.
Zelensky reiterated his openness to “any format of meeting with the head of Russia”.
Yet he voiced frustration that Moscow was “once again trying to drag everything out even further”, urging the Global South to apply pressure to steer the Kremlin towards peace.
On Sunday – as Ukrainians celebrated Independence Day – Zelensky struck a defiant note, declaring that his country would “never surrender”.
The intervention comes as momentum for a Russia–Ukraine summit appears to be stalling. US President Donald Trump, who earlier in the week suggested that Vladimir Putin and Zelensky had agreed to meet face-to-face, has since compared the pair to “oil and vinegar”.
On Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov bluntly stated that “no meeting” was on the cards.
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Balancing act
Despite his warm personal ties with Putin – whom he called a “dear ally” and “valued friend” at last year’s BRICS summit – Ramaphosa has gradually shifted South Africa’s stance.
For the first time since the war began, Pretoria this year voted in favour of a United Nations resolution describing Russia’s actions as a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
That balancing act – keeping dialogue open with Moscow while engaging with Western partners such as France – has made Ramaphosa an increasingly interesting figure in international diplomacy.
His latest round of calls suggests he intends to use his G20 presidency to keep the pressure on for talks, even as trust between Kyiv and Moscow remains scarce.
