In a sign of cordial relations, Putin congratulates Ramaphosa of South Africa on his reelection

Despite ambiguity surrounding Moscow’s more than two-year-old invasion of Ukraine, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin congratulated Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa on his reelection as president on Monday.

In reference to Putin’s phone conversation with Ramaphosa, a statement on the Kremlin website read, “Hope was expressed for continued joint work on further strengthening of the partnership between Russia and South Africa in all its aspects.”

Parliament reelected Ramaphosa on Friday. However, his African National Congress party’s inability to secure a majority in the previous month’s election—the first in thirty years—caused a coalition of five parties to form the government as of right now.

Since the invasion in 2022, Russia and Ukraine have been competing with one another for support from African countries, sending their foreign ministers on many regional tours.

Like many other African nations, South Africa has deep ties to Moscow that go back to the Soviet era, when Moscow was a major supporter of the ANC’s campaign to end apartheid and other liberation organizations.

After originally opposing Russia’s invasion in February 2022, South Africa has since taken a more nuanced stance, abstaining from many votes in the UN General Assembly denouncing Russian actions.

South Africa spent the weekend in the “peace summit” on Ukraine, which was hosted by Switzerland. However, it rejected to sign the final statement along with Saudi Arabia, India, Indonesia, Mexico, and even though several controversial themes were left out in an attempt to garner broader support.

As the host nation for the BRICS summit in 2023, South Africa was faced with a difficult decision: even though the Russian president had an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court of Justice for allegedly deporting Ukrainian children, the country thought about inviting Putin to the event.

Putin ultimately decided not to go.