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Ramaphosa and Trump smoke peace pipe?

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President Cyril Ramaphosa has spoken to US President Donald Trump about relations between the two countries.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has spoken to US President Donald Trump about relations between the two countries. (Mfundi Mkhulisi)

Zelensky arrived earlier on the same day together with his wife, Olena Zelenska.

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has spoken to US President Donald Trump to discuss Ukraine's peace process.

He made this announcement on Thursday, 24 April, on his official X account, formerly Twitter.

"We both agreed the war should be brought to an end as soon as possible to stop further unnecessary deaths. We both agreed to meet soon to address various matters regarding US-South Africa relations," said Ramaphosa.

He pointed out that the two presidents also spoke about a need to foster good relations between the two countries.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is in Mzansi for official talks with Ramaphosa later on Thursday, 24 April, in Pretoria.

He arrived earlier on the same day, together with his wife Olena Zelenska.

Relations between South Africa and the US are under strain, leading Trump to criticise Mzansi's recently signed Expropriation Act on Truth Social, claiming the country was "confiscating land and treating certain classes of people very badly".

"A massive human rights violation, at a minimum, is happening for all to see. The United States won't stand for it, we will act. Also, I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation has been completed!" wrote Trump in February, without providing any evidence.

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The US President then issued an Executive Order titled: "Addressing Egregious Actions of the Republic of South Africa."

The order stated that due to the Expropriation Act, the US will not provide aid or assistance to South Africa and will promote the resettlement of Afrikaner refugees escaping government-sponsored race-based discrimination, including racially discriminatory property confiscation.

On Wednesday, 2 April, Trump announced a 10% tariff on all imports to the US and additional reciprocal tariffs for many other countries, including 30% for South Africa.

Trump repeated his unfounded allegation that Mzansi was doing bad things.

"They have got some bad things going on in South Africa. You know, we are paying them billions of dollars and we cut the funding because a lot of bad things are happening in South Africa. The fake news ought to be looking at it, they don't want to report it," said Trump, before continuing to name other countries.

Ramaphosa blamed AfriForum for Trump's wrath.

The President condemned what he described as AfriForum's "racist statements".

The organisation visited the US, spreading rumours that there is genocide against white South Africans.

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Mfundekelwa Mkhulisi

Mfundekelwa Mkhulisi

Seasoned multimedia political journalist with 19 years of experience in industry. A career in news reporting turned to political journalism. Currently specialising in multimedia politics coverage, Mfundekelwa reports on politics and current affairs, producing engaging content across digital, print, video, and social media platforms.

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