South Africa’s Indulgence of Putin Is Unsustainable
Its posture of neutrality on the war in Ukraine is wearing thin, and a naval drill with Russia is the last straw.
Bad company.
Photographer: Sergei Chirikov/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
Nelson Mandela was not afraid to put himself on the wrong side of history out of loyalty to old friends. The South African leader, anointed a secular saint by international acclaim, embraced monsters such as Muammar Qaddafi, Robert Mugabe or Fidel Castro because, in his judgment, their sins counted for less than their support for him and his African National Congress in the long years of struggle against apartheid.
That attitude may go some way to explaining South Africa’s position on the war in Ukraine. The ANC stalwarts who now run the country, grateful for Moscow’s unstinting backing during the Cold War, are unable to openly criticize the Kremlin’s current occupant. Instead, the government of President Cyril Ramaphosa has affected a posture of neutrality, abstaining from United Nation votes condemning Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and periodically issuing anodyne statements calling for a peaceful resolution to the conflict.