Gaza crisis casts shadow over Ukrainian Foreign Minister’s visit to South Africa

After a heated news conference in Pretoria between South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, the focus was on the Gaza crisis rather than the war in Ukraine.

In an effort to boost Kiev on a continent where Moscow has significant sway, Kuleba made his maiden trip to South Africa. Although Pretoria has declared its neutrality over the conflict in Ukraine, some critics, including officials from the United States, have charged that the South African government is effectively supporting Moscow.

The foreign minister of South Africa, Pandor, stated that she hoped for a diplomatic, nonviolent resolution to the European conflict.

“The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the ongoing death toll, and the extremely concerning humanitarian situation are all causes for great concern, Minister,” she stated.

Pandor brought up Israel several times, without criticising Russia; at one point, he described its approach in Gaza as “one of collective punishment.”

The government of South Africa has consistently supported the Palestinian cause, and on Monday a presidential official declared that Pretoria was pulling its diplomats out of Israel.

Additionally, Pandor stated that the administration took offence at recent remarks made by the Israeli envoy to the nation and made fun of the U.S.

Reuben Brigety, the ambassador, made unfounded accusations earlier this year that South Africa was arming Russia.

“The Israeli ambassador has been making some remarks that are almost exactly like the claims made by the US ambassador a few months ago without any supporting evidence,” the ambassador stated. “Some ambassadors in South Africa seem to have the peculiar habit of saying whatever they want.”

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She went on to say that perhaps that was because “they don’t respect us” as an African nation.

Regarding the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba frequently used phrases that Pretoria avoids, such as “invasion” and “Russian aggression.”

He emphasised that Kyiv is working to assist African nations in navigating the food insecurity brought on by the crisis in Europe, noting that as a part of the former Soviet Union, Ukraine had helped South Africans’ fight against apartheid.

Positive discussions that “opened a new chapter” in the relationship between South Africa and Ukraine, according to Kuleba, took place with Pandor.

He also conveyed concern on the Middle East crisis.

When reporters asked him if the crisis in Gaza was taking the focus off of Ukraine, he advised against making parallels between the Middle East and Ukraine, stating that “people are people everywhere.”

He acknowledged, however, that a lot of the everyday catastrophes in Ukraine have grown “routine” for the media.

“We in Ukraine find it very painful to see how civilian deaths, child deaths, and other acts of mass destruction go unreported, but we also recognise that this is the way the world operates,” Kuleba stated.

He stated that although the focus of the media might have changed, he did not believe that Ukraine was getting less political attention.