German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, after being given a “cold shoulder” by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, met with Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor on June 27. The Baerbock visit was a further attempt to bring the “Global South ‘’ aboard the ridiculous “peace conference” without Russian participation. At the end of their meeting, Pandor indicated that the African nations would continue to pursue their peace proposal, and hold their own conference based on the African plan. “We want to see the cessation of hostilities in Ukraine as soon as possible and start a dialogue to resolve the crisis,” Pandor said. She also remarked, in reply to a question, that “an attempted rebellion will not affect our readiness to continue to engage with both countries, as agreed by the Presidents as part of the African peace mission.”
Baerbock had a different take on the meeting, claiming that there was a change in South Africa’s position on the matter. “It is obvious here that long efforts in diplomacy are paying off, since the voice of South Africa, in my opinion, has already changed,” Baerbock said. Baerbock first praised the African peace plan, and then immediately began to raise new accusations against Russia.
