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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday accused NATO of provoking Russia into invading neighboring Ukraine.
Speaking in Parliament on Thursday, Ramaphosa said the war, now in its fourth week, could have been avoided had NATO not expanded eastward.
“The war could have been avoided if NATO had listened for years to the warnings of its leaders and officials that its eastward expansion would lead to more, not less, instability in the region,” Ramaphosa said.
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He took pains to clarify that South Africa “cannot condone the use of force and the violation of international law.”
The South African president declined to condemn Russia, saying he was asked to mediate in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, but did not specify who approached him.
FILE: This Thursday, February 13, 2020, file photo shows South African President Cyril Ramaphosa delivering his State of the Union Address in Cape Town, South Africa. (Sumaya Hisham/Pool photo via AP)
“There are those who insist that we take a very hostile position towards Russia. The approach we are going to take (instead) is to … insist on the need for dialogue,” he said, adding: “Screaming and yelling will not help.” put an end to this conflict.”
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Ramaphosa said he did not want to take sides because it would damage his country’s role as a possible mediator. He referred to South Africa playing a similar role in the conflict between Northern Ireland and former Finnish President Marti Ahtisaari. South Africa was one of 35 countries that abstained from voting on a UN resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Belarus, which provides a foothold for the Russian military, North Korea, Eritrea and Syria, joined Russia in voting against the resolution. The US and 140 other countries voted in favor of the resolution.
The map shows a map of NATO members (Fox News)
In the past two months alone, the US presence in Europe has jumped from about 80,000 troops to about 100,000, almost the same as it was in 1997, when the United States and its NATO allies began expanding an alliance that Putin says threatens Russia must be turned back.
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By comparison, according to Pentagon data, in 1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed, there were 305,000 United States troops in Europe, including 224,000 in Germany alone. This number then steadily declined, reaching 101,000 in 2005 and around 64,000 as recently as 2020.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.