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Siyabonga Mkhwanazi<\/p>\n
Deputy President David Mabuza has stuck to his guns that South Africa has called for negotiations for a ceasefire in Ukraine.<\/p>\n
He said both Russia and Ukraine have to reach a deal in order to have peace and stability in the area.<\/p>\n
Mabuza, who was answering questions in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on Wednesday, also denied that South Africa had contradicted itself on its stance on Ukraine.<\/p>\n
He said he was happy that both Ukraine and Russia were in negotiations to find peace.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is absolutely no contradiction in the position we have stated because we believe that diplomacy is always the most sensible pathway in averting conflict and war. Even when we are already in a war situation, diplomacy should not be neglected as a means towards peace and stability. <\/p>\n
\u201cConflict and war, honourable members, can stunt growth and inhibit growth. It will always breed discontent and it is a recipe for further disaster. At the receiving end of any conflict is always the ordinary people, mostly women and children that bear the brunt of the pain and disruption of their lives,\u201d said Mabuza.<\/p>\n
Mabuza also told members of the NCOP that no amount of condemnation would lead to a peaceful solution in Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Opposition parties have condemned South Africa for adopting a neutral position on the conflict.<\/p>\n
But Mabuza said this was not the case.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo amount of condemnation, no amount of side-taking, will resolve this problem. Diplomacy remains the key tool at our disposal to end the war and to persuade parties involved to deliver peace and stability,\u201d said Mabuza.<\/p>\n
In another session in Parliament on Tuesday, Deputy Minister of International Relations and Co-operation Candith Mashego-Dlamini reiterated the position that South Africa wanted peace and stability in Ukraine.<\/p>\n
siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za<\/p>\n
POLITICAL BUREAU<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Siyabonga Mkhwanazi Deputy President David Mabuza has stuck to his guns that South Africa has called for negotiations for a ceasefire in Ukraine. He said both Russia and Ukraine have to reach a deal in order to have peace and stability in the area. Mabuza, who was answering questions in the National Council of Provinces […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":58840,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[961,11684,9020,11150],"class_list":["post-58839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-politics","tag-calls","tag-ceasefire","tag-mabuza","tag-ukraine"],"yoast_head":"\n