Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov Visits Pretoria and Holds Talks with South African Foreign Minister
On January 23 local time, in Pretoria, the administrative capital of South Africa, Naledi Pandol, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa, received visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and held bilateral talks . This is the first visit to South Africa by Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
In a bilateral meeting on the 23rd, Lavrov said he appreciated South Africa’s neutral stance and South Africa’s belief that Ukraine and the West were responsible for the ongoing conflict.
Lavrov said that it is well known that Russia supports Ukraine’s proposal for early negotiations in special military operations, but the United States and Britain, as well as some European countries, have told Ukraine that it is too early to make a deal with Russia. Lavrov reiterated that Russia’s military objectives were never aimed at Ukrainian civilians.
South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandol reiterated that South Africa hopes to solve the problem through dialogue and diplomatic channels. “As South Africa, we sincerely hope that the Russia-Ukraine conflict will end peacefully as soon as possible through diplomacy and negotiations,” she said.
Earlier, South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Pandor said in an interview with the headquarter reporter, “South Africa’s position is that countries must live in peace. We believe that development can only be achieved in a peaceful environment, so we continue to urge The international community must work with Ukraine and Russia to persuade them to negotiate a result that satisfies both countries and ensure that their respective security concerns are addressed.” Pandor also said that South Africa will defend its own rights and maintain bilateral relations with any country without Western domination and left and right. (Headquarters reporter Zhao Yinan)