Zelensky's Secret Visit to SA: How Ramaphosa outsmarted Donald Trump this week with just one phone call to Putin

In a historic move towards fostering global diplomacy and ending conflicts, President Cyril Ramaphosa spoke to three important global players in quick succession this week – Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, with whom he held talks in Pretoria.

Ramaphosa's reputation as an "honest broker" has earned him the trust of numerous world leaders, including those who remain otherwise disengaged from dialogue.

According to international relations expert, Oscar van Heerden, Ramaphosa's administration's "clever maneuvering", quiet diplomacy, and soft power play caught the US by surprise and proved that Ramaphosa was not stupid.

Van Heerden, a senior researcher at the University of Johannesburg's Centre for African Diplomacy and Leadership, believes the call between Ramaphosa and Trump on Thursday was purely coincidental.

However, when Ramaphosa's administration extended an invitation to Zelensky, part of the plan was to have a conversation with Putin as a continuation of the work of the African Peace Initiative delegation that he led to Kyiv and Saint Petersburg in 2023.

The call to Putin on Monday was also crucial because of Pretoria's non-aligned stance since the war broke out in February 2022 and its historic links with the warring countries.

"The Ramaphosa administration also understood that in as much as there's the gesture of normalising trade relations with Ukraine, there is also the ongoing war that is taking place, and because of that President Ramaphosa knew that was also going to be on the agenda and since he was the appointed leader of the African delegation, it was only fitting that he takes that conversation forward," said Van Heerden.

His observation comes after Zelensky's short working visit to the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Thursday.

During a media briefing following closed discussions, Ramaphosa told journalists about his conversation with Trump earlier that day, during which, he said, both leaders agreed to meet soon to address various matters regarding US-SA relations.

This was the first time the two leaders spoke amid Trump's aggressive posture towards Pretoria.

The call could also pave the way for Ramaphosa's recently appointed special envoy to the US, Mcebisi Jonas, to get an audience with senior Trump administration leaders.

Jonas was appointed to pick up from where former ambassador to the US Ebrahim Rasool left off.

Van Heerden said since Ramaphosa had Putin's ear, it was important for him to speak to Putin in order to take the African Peace Initiative conversation forward.

During the call, said Van Heerden, he suspected that Ramaphosa would have told Putin that he was meeting with Zelensky and that he would make attempts to broker peace.

He said Ramaphosa would have asked Putin: "What are your non-negotiables? Is there anything you want me to take to the table? What's your red line so that when I engage with Zelensky I can, at least, convey that?"

On Monday, the Kremlin said, "In view of the willingness to contribute in the search for ways to peacefully resolve the Ukraine crisis displayed by the South African side, Vladimir Putin outlined Russia's principled stance regarding the necessity to eliminate the root causes behind the conflict and ensure Russia's security interests are respected."

Putin would also have made it crystal clear to Ramaphosa that he was not interested in a window-dressing exercise or a makeshift and superficial ceasefire.

After the phone call, Van Heerden said word got out to the US State Department, through the embassy in Pretoria, that Zelensky would be in South Africa, and Ramaphosa and Putin spoke directly.

And even though there was an initial call between Trump and Putin, the US had been sending delegations to meet with the Russian administration.

"There wasn't necessarily direct contact again with Trump and Putin, and here you have South Africa, which is now directly speaking to Putin. And remember what made the Americans wary about this intervention of South Africa is the fact that they know themselves, they are not completely honest brokers in this conflict."

Similarly, he added, the Europeans were not honest brokers.

"And yet here you have an individual from the southern tip of Africa, who has no direct stake in the conflict, and can be an honest broker and does have the moral authority to do so, and does have the ear of both Putin and Zelensky. So it's very clever maneuvering on the part of the Ramaphosa administration."

Before Trump, every president had taken South Africa seriously in the international arena.

"The reason why Trump deviated from that is because of the fact that we took Israel to the International Court of Justice. That's the main reason they feel they wanted to punish South Africa, and this maneuver of the Ramaphosa administration has outmaneuvered the Americans.

"They will never admit it, but it has outmaneuvered the Americans, which then forced a phone call between Trump and Ramaphosa."

Van Heerden said the call signals a change in Trump's aggressive posture towards Pretoria, possibly leading to Trump taking over the G20 presidency from Ramaphosa in person Johannesburg in December.

He lauded Pretoria's clever and strategic diplomacy which has shown the US for the "fools they are".

Senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies Priyal Singh said the African Peace Initiative initially had value, but its future in the form and shape it had previously taken may likely change.

He said: "That largely comes on the back of the fact that the Ukrainian peace formula that is primarily led by the office of Zelensky is not really seen as the most viable option right now in light of the changing position of the US and the kind of stress in the transatlantic partnership between the US and the EU and the kinds of overtures made by the Trump administration to kind of force a peace agreement on Ukraine by engaging in bilateral talks with Moscow and other countries."

The role South Africa plays in the peace process will be informed by the Trump administration, he added.

He commended Ramaphosa's administration for speaking to the three leaders and being able to compartmentalise issues.

"I would definitely applaud the initiative taken by President Ramaphosa for playing this role. It's something he didn't need to do. It shows us that the Presidency and the South African government are keenly and acutely aware of the expectations of South Africa."

Singh said Ramaphosa also knows he has to tread carefully because of Pretoria's relations with different countries.

"It definitely tells us as observers of South Africa's international relations that there is, in fact, growing recognition and pragmatism within our foreign policy establishments and that things are indeed changing. Maybe they're not changing fast enough, but at least we see that there's clear initiative now being taken by the South African government."

So where to next after the call?

Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said there was certainly a renewed sense of optimism now that Pretoria had begun a process to work on resetting and normalising the relationship with the US.

"There's still a lot of work ahead and we should not be discouraged if we experience some bumpy patches along the way. What is important is that a principle to normalise the relationship has been affirmed at the highest levels of leadership of both countries," said Magwenya.

He said the call between Trump and Ramaphosa was cordial and friendly.

However, he added: "Ultimately, it will be the two leaders through their leadership that relations will be normalised."

According to Magwenya, teams on both sides would start working on facilitating the meeting as per the agreed intention of both leaders.

In addition, scheduling and logistical factors would have to be carefully managed in the process, he said.

He added that the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition would soon complete formulating a trade deal proposal that the Presidency believes will be mutually beneficial.

"A process of engagement over the trade deal will ensue," he said. – News 24