RUSSIAN Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was in South Africa on Monday for talks with one of its most important allies on a continent that is divided over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and related Western attempts to isolate it.
He was to meet South Africa’s foreign minister, Naledi Pandor, in a trip some opposition parties and the small Ukrainian community have condemned as insensitive.
A ministry spokesperson said Lavrov had arrived in South Africa on Monday morning. He and Pandor are expected to hold a joint news conference around 1000 GMT.
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government regards South Africa as neutral in the conflict and has expressed a desire to mediate.
Pandor has repeatedly insisted that South Africa will not be dragged into taking sides, and has criticised the West for its selective condemnation of Russia while ignoring other issues such as the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory.
Even as South Africa has proclaimed impartiality on
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