South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and U.S. President Donald Trump have agreed to meet soon to address mounting tensions and improve diplomatic ties between the two countries.
Ramaphosa announced the development in a statement posted on X on Thursday, revealing that the two leaders had a conversation and reached a consensus to engage in person.
“We also spoke about the need to foster good relations between our two countries,” Ramaphosa said.
According to BusinessDay, the planned meeting follows months of diplomatic strain since Trump returned to the White House in January, testing Washington’s relationship with Pretoria by several moves, including the U.S. government’s criticism of South Africa’s decision to file a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
Trump has also expressed concern over claims of land seizures from White farmers in South Africa, a claim Pretoria has repeatedly denied, emphasising that since the end of apartheid in 1994, no state-sanctioned land confiscation has taken place.
In the same conversation, Ramaphosa said that the two leaders discussed the ongoing war in Ukraine as their exchange coincided with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Pretoria.
“We both agreed that the war should be brought to an end as soon as possible to stop further unnecessary deaths,” Ramaphosa stated.
While no official date has been announced, the upcoming meeting could mark a significant step in recalibrating South Africa’s foreign policy ties with the United States amid global geopolitical shifts.
