Wednesday, April 23, 2025

Cyril And Putin Had A Lovely Chat Yesterday

If ever you needed a reminder of how embarrassing it is to have the ANC at the helm, look no further than the party's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

[imagesource: EPA -EFE / Sergei Chirikov / Pool]

“What’s that, Vlad? If I don’t pass that nuclear deal there will be hell to pay?”

If ever you needed a reminder of how embarrassing it is to have the ANC at the helm, look no further than the party’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

While the majority of the rest of the world has rightly condemned President Vladimir Putin and his government, we’ve been forced to watch our politicians cosy up to the murderous dictator with a number of platitudes.

Let’s not mention Fikile Mbalula and his fake Ukraine visit tweet.

Yesterday, President Cyril Ramaphosa picked up the ringer and dialled into Russia, with News24 reporting he “has reaffirmed his commitment to further develop bilateral relations with Russia”.

Never mind that other countries are racing to rack up the sanctions and distance themselves from Russia.

Ramaphosa was quick with off the mark with a few tweets:

Our country almost burnt to the ground last July as rioters ran amok, looting and stealing on live TV, but let’s go solve the “conflict” in Russia, at once!

In a statement, the Kremlin said the leaders had exchanged congratulations on the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Russia and South Africa.

The two presidents also “reaffirmed their commitment to further develop the bilateral strategic partnership, noting, in particular, their readiness to expand trade, economic and humanitarian cooperation, as well as joint Covid-19 response efforts”.

The Kremlin also said that Ramaphosa “supported the ongoing political and diplomatic efforts”.

What’s diplomatic about sending airstrikes to take out a hospital maternity ward?

Earlier this morning, news broke that the Ukrainian cities of Lutsk and Dnipro have been hit for the first time, and air raid sirens rang out overnight.

But sure, what the region is lacking is ANC politicians as middlemen.

As per usual, Zapiro’s take on The Daily Maverick is on the money:

[source:news24]