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Russian President Vladimir Putin reacts with president Cyril Ramaphosa during a family photo of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia on October 24 2024. Picture: ALEXANDER NEMENOV/Pool via REUTERS
At the Brics conference in Russia presidents Cyril Ramaphosa and Vladimir Putin gleefully lauded Russia’s support “from the beginning” to end apartheid. Valued allies and friends they were, as the presidents intonated.
Both are wrong, of course. During former Russian president Boris Yeltsin’s first term, when I served as ambassador to the Russian Federation (1991-1996), his government described the ANC as a “terrorist organisation”, suspending all aid, military and otherwise, while entering full diplomatic relations with SA (1992).
Before then, of course, the Soviet Union made substantial contributions, though more recently these relations were driven mainly by ideological obsessions. The substantive, or transactional, importance of the relations is almost negligible. For example, only 0.4% of SA imports come from Russia.
Prof Gerrit Olivier Strand
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
LETTER: Presidents get it wrong
At the Brics conference in Russia presidents Cyril Ramaphosa and Vladimir Putin gleefully lauded Russia’s support “from the beginning” to end apartheid. Valued allies and friends they were, as the presidents intonated.
Both are wrong, of course. During former Russian president Boris Yeltsin’s first term, when I served as ambassador to the Russian Federation (1991-1996), his government described the ANC as a “terrorist organisation”, suspending all aid, military and otherwise, while entering full diplomatic relations with SA (1992).
Before then, of course, the Soviet Union made substantial contributions, though more recently these relations were driven mainly by ideological obsessions. The substantive, or transactional, importance of the relations is almost negligible. For example, only 0.4% of SA imports come from Russia.
Prof Gerrit Olivier
Strand
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
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