Ramaphosa's Ukraine Peace Mission Is Pure Deflection

You could almost see the egg dripping from Cyril Ramaphosa’s face as he announced an African peace mission to Moscow and Kyiv, scheduled for early next month. Speaking only days after US allegations that South Africa had supplied arms to Russia, South Africa’s president must have known his attempt to cast himself as a honest broker in the conflict is doomed. But he is desperate to distract attention from his economic and political troubles at home as well as his foreign policy failures.

Along with credibility, Ramaphosa is also lacking in leverage — with either of the belligerents. It would be one thing if he were traveling with leaders of the BRICS group, but China and India have their own interests to pursue. So the South African will be part of a B-team that includes the presidents of Egypt, Zambia, Senegal, the Republic of Congo and Uganda.