Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has cut short his visit to the Republic of South Africa and is returning to Ukraine after a meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Ukrainian media said.
“The Ukrainian Foreign Minister will hold all necessary meetings in South Africa,” Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on his Telegram channel.
He arrived in Pretoria on Thursday to attend several important meetings, including one with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Before his visit, activists from the African National Congress, South Africa’s ruling party, had released a documentary that expressed their support for Russia. In the film, Zelensky was labeled a “warmonger,” and the conflict in Ukraine was portrayed as a “proxy war of the West against Russia.”
“Today I will brief President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa, who chairs the G20, on the situation and our need to intensify global diplomatic efforts.“
“I have cancelled part of this visit’s program and will immediately be returning to Ukraine after the meeting with the president of South Africa,” media outlets quoted Zelensky as saying on social media on Thursday.
Zelensky has not offered any reasons for cutting short his visit to South Africa, they said.
At the same time, he said that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrei Sibiga will instead “hold all necessary meetings in South Africa in order to fully brief the political and public leaders of this country on the situation,” he said.
