uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK Party) secretary general Floyd Shivambu said the party plans to protest the arrival of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whom he called a “puppet president” when he visits South Africa next week.
During a media briefing on Friday, in Sandton, Shivambu lamented President Cyril Ramaphosa for extending an invite to Zelensky.
“The MK Party strongly condemns Mr Ramaphosa's misguided decision to extend an invitation to Volodymyr Zelensky, a figure widely discredited among progressive and non-aligned nations,” he told the media.
Zelensky is expected to arrive in South Africa next week on a State visit.
Shivambu said the party views the invitation as a clear alignment with European imperial interests and an affront to South Africa's historical position of non-alignment and anti-imperialism.
“Accordingly, the party has resolved to formally oppose any official visit by Zelensky to South Africa,” he said.
Shivambu described Zelensky as a “puppet president,” and stated that in response - the party will take to the streets and protest against his State visit.
“We will stage protests against the visit of Zelensky into South Africa. We don’t want him to come because he has been a puppet of the North Atlantic Treaty of Organisation (NATO) led militarism, which sought to destabilise Eastern Europe and the entire world through an unjust and unfair expansion of NATO,” he said.
IOL News previously reported presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said Zelensky’s visit "is a continuation of ongoing engagements" on "an inclusive peace process" between Russia and Ukraine.”
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