South Africa’s Jacob Zuma Slams NATO’s Role in Ukraine Conflict, Says You ‘Can’t Crush BRICS’ – News18

Former South African President Jacob Zuma has slammed the expansion of the Western military alliance, NATO, suggesting it may be a contributing factor to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Zuma made these remarks during a South African National Civic Organisation rally in KwaXimba, west of Durban.

The former South African President, who served from 2009 to 2018, also said that Russia has argued against NATO interference in neighboring countries and highlighted the need for independent thinking.

These comments follow President Cyril Ramaphosa’s participation in an African leaders’ peace delegation to Ukraine and Russia, where he met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Vladimir Putin to mediate peace between the two nations.

This statement comes as Russia reported fierce fighting on Sunday on three sections of the front line in Ukraine, a day after hosting an African peace mission that failed to spark enthusiasm from either Moscow or Kyiv.

“I think Russia has been saying this is their neighbour, you can’t in a neigbhouring country bring Nato to interfere with Russia, when you don’t even [have] a country in the Middle East or Africa to think independently. You go there, you attack and do everything,” Zuma was quoted as saying by South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).

Zuma also claimed that Western nations are discontent with the existence of the BRICS formation.

“…you need to find a solution to solve a problem and this war is in fact linked to the existence of BRICS. But unfortunately, you can’t crush BRICS. Of course, peace is necessary, wherever there is a fight or clash, you need to come in and do [broker] peace,” he added.

At talks in St Petersburg on Saturday, the South African President presented Putin with a 10-point peace initiative from seven African countries and told him the time had come to start negotiations to end the war.

The Russian President responded with a string of familiar accusations denied by Ukraine and the West and saying it was Kyiv, not Moscow, that was refusing to talk. He thanked Ramaphosa for his “noble mission”.

Russian news agencies quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying Putin had shown interest in the plan but it would be “difficult to realise”.

In Kyiv the previous day,  Zelenskiy had told the African delegation that allowing negotiations now would just “freeze the war” and the suffering of the Ukrainian people.

(With inputs from Reuters)