Ramaphosa urges UN to ‘pull up its socks’, mediate between Russia & Ukraine
President Cyril Ramaphosa believes the invasion of Ukraine by Russia could have been avoided.
The president was speaking at the first meeting of the national litigation forum in Pretoria on Friday.
It came as Ukrainian forces fought off Russian invaders in the streets of the capital Kyiv on Friday as President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of targeting civilians and called for more international sanctions.
Pre-dawn blasts in Kyiv set off a second day of violence after Russian President Vladimir Putin defied Western warnings to unleash a full-scale invasion on Thursday that quickly claimed dozens of lives and displaced at least 100,000 people.
Ramaphosa called on the United Nations to mediate between the two countries.
"We can see how the war that is going in Ukraine, and I would say that the conflict should be subjected to mediation, negotiation and engagement, because it's not necessary for people to go to war.
"It's not necessary for people to be killed and infrastructure to be damaged, it behoves on countries of the world, particularly the United Nations security council. They are the ones who should be getting more and more engaged in a mediation process, and one doesn't see that happening," said Ramaphosa.
