Zelensky ‘blatantly lying’ over claims Russia sabotaging Ukraine-Africa ties – politician

Kiev is helping to fuel unrest in the Sahel region, unlike Moscow, Themba Godi has said

Claims by Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky that Russia is undermining Kiev’s diplomatic efforts in Africa are “pure lies,” South African politician Themba Godi has told RT.

In a speech during a visit to South Africa on Thursday, Zelensky accused Moscow of pursuing an anti-Ukraine policy in Africa and on other continents, including Latin America.

“[Russian President Vladimir] Putin …does not want Ukraine to build normal human, primarily humanitarian and economic relations with the countries of your continent. They want an exclusive presence on continents, both in your country and in other countries,” Zelensky told South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Godi, president of the African People’s Convention Party (APC), called the remarks a smokescreen for Ukraine’s own controversial conduct in Africa.

“It’s so sad for him to come all the way from Ukraine and make such a blatantly false statement. I think part of the reason why some of us are strongly opposed to Zelensky beyond his being a puppet of NATO is the fact that they support terrorists in the Sahel region,” he told RT in an interview on Thursday.

“If you look at the havoc being caused in northern Mali, in northern Burkina Faso, as well as the central and eastern parts of Niger, with the support of Ukraine, it really is something that has nothing to do with Russia,” he added.

READ MORE: Zelensky’s visit a show for NATO – South African anti-fascist group leader

Zelensky’s visit to Pretoria has sparked widespread criticism from South African political commentators and activists due to what they called his dismissive attitude toward a 2023 Ramaphosa-led peace initiative.

The publicized purpose of the trip, which Ramaphosa says is the first by a Ukrainian leader to South Africa in over three decades, had been to discuss the process of resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict. According to the South African president, Zelensky has expressed readiness for an unconditional ceasefire – a commitment Godi has called “empty rhetoric.”

The APC believes that the Ukrainian leader’s visit to Pretoria is a “desperate PR exercise” to gain sympathy amid strained relations with the US, which had been its main weapons supplier in the fight against Moscow.

He claimed Zelensky “did not care about countries of the south or of the continent,” which have now distanced themselves from him because they see him as a “warmonger” and a “puppet of external forces.”

However, Matthew Parks, parliamentary coordinator for the Congress of South African Trade Unions, said past difficult history should not stop efforts to negotiate a ceasefire with Ukraine.

“You negotiate not with your friends, but with people you’ve had very difficult relations with, very painful moments. But then the point is there must be discussions, and that’s always been South Africa’s history,” Parks told RT.