South Africa is willing to play a mediating role in the Middle East conflict if asked, President Cyril Ramaphosa told local media on the sidelines of an energy conference in Cape Town.
"South Africa is always ready to play a contributing role, either in mediation or whatever. And if a gap opens or if we are asked, we always live up to our obligations," Ramaphosa said, according to comments broadcast on local broadcaster Newzroom Afrika.
"If the opportunity were to open, we would talk and say: there must be a ceasefire. Dialog is always the best way of ending conflict and then ending the war. And we want this war to come to an end immediately," he said.
Ramaphosa added that the South African government was doing everything it could to bring home its citizens stranded in the region.
This recent engagement by the South African government in the Middle East conflict follows a series of controversial interactions between South Africa and Israel.
Persona non grata
In January this year, South Africa announced its decision to declare Israel's chargé d'affaires, Ariel Seidman, persona non grata, according to the country's foreign affairs ministry. Seidman was also instructed to leave the country within 72 hours, as stated in a message on the ministry's website.
South Africa accused Seidman of “unacceptable violations of diplomatic norms and practice, which pose a direct challenge to South Africa’s sovereignty.”
Israel then responded in kind, declared South Africa’s senior diplomatic representative, Shaun Edward Byneveldt, persona non grata.
Genocide accusation
Diplomatic relations between South Africa and Israel have been strained by South Africa’s genocide case over Israel’s actions in Gaza at the International Court of Justice.
Israel has rejected South Africa’s case as baseless.