Ramaphosa takes first step towards mending relations with US

In what could be seen as monumental in US-South Africa relations, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Thursday that he had spoken to his counterpart Donald Trump. 

This comes after months of hostilities, with the US president signing punitive executive orders against South Africa. 

Trump has also falsely claimed that South Africa was infringing the rights of the minority Afrikaner group.

The announcement by Ramaphosa follows his decision to appoint a US envoy, former deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas, to engage with US stakeholders. Ramaphosa’s announcement of a phone call also comes as he hosted Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky on a formal visit.

Ramaphosa said he spoke to Trump 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. We both agreed to meet soon to address various matters regarding US-South Africa relations. We also spoke about the need to foster good relations between our two countries,” he said. 

South Africa has been under the microscope in the US since it professed non-alignment and refused to condemn Russia for its invasion of Ukraine three years ago. The Israel genocide case at the International Court of Justice has also increased tensions dramatically.

South Africa holds the rotating presidency of the G20 this year and is hosting a meeting of the group’s foreign ministers this week. US secretary of state Marco Rubio boycotted it in a protest against Pretoria.