Dylan Bettencourt
The issue of Ukraine was the elephant in the room when US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met South Africa’s Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor on Monday.
Pandor and Blinken discussed a range of issues, including trade, investment, health and science, at a closed-door meeting in Pretoria.
However, despite the pair agreeing that a healthy partnership between the two countries is imperative, there was a topic which they were unlikely to see eye-to-eye on: the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
South Africa has chosen to remain neutral. The US, on the other hand, has called for countries to condemn Russia.
Pandor revealed that she and Blinken had “very frank discussions where at times we don’t agree – but it has not broken this friendship. In fact it has made it stronger.”
Pandor said last week that African nations were being punished for refusing to fall in line with the West’s demand for countries to condemn the invasion.
In a major policy speech at the University of Pretoria on Monday night Blinken said the US would not dictate Africa’s choices – “and nor should anyone else”.
He said the US sees Africa’s nations as equal partners in tackling global problems such as the climate crisis, recovering from the pandemic, economic opportunities, revitalization of democracies and strengthening a free and open international order.
He pushed back on the view that he is touring Africa to counter the influence of China and Russia on the continent.
“Too often, African nations have been told to pick a side in great power contests that feel far removed from the daily struggles of their people,” he said.
“Our strategy is rooted in the recognition that sub-Saharan Africa is a major geopolitical force — one that has shaped our past, is shaping our present, and will shape our future,” he said.
Blinken next heads to Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Image source: @ViralTrunk
