Ramaphosa congratulates Putin on re-election
President Cyril Ramaphosa has joined allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin, including China and India, in congratulating him on winning a fifth term in office.
Putin won a fifth term in office with 87% of the vote, although Western powers denounced the election as illegitimate, held under repressive conditions with no credible opposition.
Official results from the three-day ballot, in which all credible opposition was barred, show 71-year-old Putin winning a landslide with almost 76 million votes.
The Kremlin had cast the election as a moment for Russians to throw their weight behind the full-scale military operation in Ukraine, now in its third year.
"President Ramaphosa further recalled the commitment of South Africa and the Russian Federation to mutual cooperation at the multilateral level, including the two countries’ common membership of the United Nations, the G20, BRICS and other multilateral bodies," said presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya.
"President Ramaphosa concluded by indicating South Africa’s strong belief in the maintenance of international peace and security and that South Africa will continue to engage both the Russian Federation and the Republic of Ukraine in search of lasting peace between the two neighbouring countries.”
ALSO READ:
