By Zukile Majova
Political Editor
- Former president Thabo Mbeki agrees with Donald Trump’s call to end the Ukraine war and urges South Africa to respect the US administration.
- The US has spent over $100 billion supporting Ukraine, but Trump has refused to send more money, calling for peace instead.
Former South African President Thabo Mbeki has voiced support for former U.S. President Donald Trump’s position on ending the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Mbeki agrees with Trump’s call to end the war and has urged South Africa to respect the U.S. administration.
The U.S. has spent over $100 billion supporting Ukraine, but Trump has refused to send more money, calling for peace instead.
The war has caused a rise in food prices, an energy crisis in Europe, and a drop in agricultural production in Africa. At its peak, grain and fertiliser shipments were blocked from passing through the Black Sea, and gas supplies to Europe were cut off.
The U.S. has been the biggest financial supporter of Ukraine’s defence, spending around $300 billion (R5.46 trillion). According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy in Germany, $119 billion (R2.17 trillion) of that has come from the U.S.
Mbeki said: “The positions taken by Trump on the Ukraine war are correct. When he says this war must end. And therefore undertaking this task to communicate with both President Putin and President Zelensky. Let’s move forward as quickly as possible to end the matter. That is the correct position.”
“I support Trump very strongly on that,” Mbeki told SABC News.
After meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, Trump refused to send more money to Ukraine.
“I refuse to bend the knee to the next endless war in Ukraine. I want peace. They want money and they want conflict, even if it means walking us into the brink of World War 3, which is exactly what it is doing and it’s doing it rapidly,” Trump said.
Mbeki also urged President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government to resolve its diplomatic tensions with the U.S. and show respect for the Trump administration.
“One of the first things that comes to mind is that we must respect the fact that the government running the United States now is a democratically elected government of the people of the United States. I think we’ve got to respect that. That we are not just dealing with anybody who says whatever, you are dealing with a properly elected representative of the people of the U.S.,” Mbeki said.
Pictured above: Former president Thabo Mbeki.
Image source: SABC news
