Hours after taking aim at US President Donald Trump over the land issue, President Cyril Ramaphosa said he will not fall into the trap of engaging heads of state publicly, saying important matters should be discussed behind closed doors.
Ramaphosa was answering a question on Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda, accusing him of misrepresenting the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) crisis and South Africa's involvement in it.
Ramaphosa said this at the Presidential Golf Challenge in Cape Town on Friday following his State of Nation Address (SONA) on Thursday night.
This was his first SONA under the Government of National Unity (GNU).
"As the head of state, I'm not in the habit of getting into the mud and arguing with other people and heads of state. Matters of importance are discussed properly, behind closed doors. So, I am not going to get into the mud,” he said.
Recently, Ramaphosa has blamed the Rwandan Defence Force and the M23 rebel group for the deaths of 14 South African troops involved in peacekeeping in DRC.
Kagame responded by denying these claims and charging Ramaphosa and South African authorities with purposeful disinformation, falsifying claims, and misrepresenting the facts.
With regards to the US, Ramaphosa said they intend to engage them formally to ensure that the relations between the two countries remain stable.
He regards the country as an important financial partner on the global stage.
This is as South Africa is preparing to hold the G20 summit later this year.
“They're the biggest economy and they are our very important trading partner. So, we intend to deal with them in a formal way and proper engagement, and as I said, I'm going to be sending a delegation to the world to all our own continents, to Europe, to the Americas and to Asia, to the Middle East, to go and explain our position.
“More particularly, our G20 objectives, because we want this summit to be an African G20, but also to the engagement that is set to focus on the issues that impact on the global south, and in humanity, more broadly,” he said.
This comes after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he will not attend the G20 talks in South Africa amid escalating tensions between Washington and Pretoria over the controversial Expropriation Act.
Trump also threatened to stop funding for the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (Pepfar) to South Africa, pending an investigation into allegations of land expropriation.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, IOL reported that Ramaphosa aimed at Trump, telling him that South Africa will not be bullied following his comments or threats on the Expropriation Act.
"We are resilient people. We will not be bullied. We will stand together as a united nation. We will speak with one voice in defence of our national interest, our sovereignty and our constitutional democracy.
“By staying true to our values, by harnessing our unique strengths and endowments, and by forging a common purpose, we can turn these trying circumstances to our advantage and propel our country forward," Ramaphosa said.
IOL Politics