SOUTH AFRICA PERSPECTIVE

Pretoria observes the sequence through the lens of what the Ukraine war keeps costing — humanly, economically, food-wise. The Daily Maverick has documented in recent weeks the massive Russian strikes that remind us that, while diplomats write letters, civilians keep dying. South African coverage of the Zelensky-Putin sequence remains faithful to the BRICS doctrine of the Ramaphosa government: active non-alignment, refusal to call Russia an aggressor (a 2022 position against the opposition's advice), and preference for South-South mediations. The tone is less enthusiastic than on the Brazilian side — South Africa did not host Putin because of the ICC mandate — but the framing remains that of a country that refuses to "pick a side". Any negotiated ceasefire would be welcomed with relief in Johannesburg, where wheat, fertilizer and oil prices rise with every escalation. The open letter is therefore read as a positive sign without emotional engagement — exactly the tone a Global South pivot country wants to maintain. This South African posture is not neutral: it confirms a structural shift in the Global South that now refuses to align its positions with Western arbitrations, and the letter does not reverse the trend, it confirms it.