South Africa: SA Security Personnel, Media Disembark Charter Plane

16 June 2023
SAnews.gov.za (Tshwane)
By Dikeledi Molobela

Warsaw, Poland: More than 24 hours later, a large contingent of security personnel and media have disembarked the SAA Airbus A340-300 plane that landed at the Warsaw Chopin Airport on Thursday.

This comes after the delegation of specialised police officers and media spent over 24 hours on the plane that landed at the Warsaw Chopin Airport. Up until this afternoon, Polish officials would not let the delegation get off the charter plane.

Earlier, head of the Presidential Protection Services (PPS), Major General Wally Rhoode, expressed frustration over delays experienced despite the delegation being in possession of the necessary permits.

The media was meant to cover President Cyril Ramaphosa on the African Peace Initiative that the President is currently leading.

The President is leading a delegation of African leaders in a bid to broker peace between Ukraine and Russia. This as President Ramaphosa and his counterparts lead the African peace mission, which will see the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, and Russia's Vladimir Putin, sitting on the negotiation table.

President Ramaphosa previously said the aim of the mission is to hear from both leaders what it will take to bring an end to war, which broke out in February last year.

Meanwhile, Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya assured South Africans that the President's safety had not been compromised.

"I'd like to assure all South Africans that there has been no compromise whatsoever to the President's safety as a result of the impasse that involved the charter flight with the PPS and media.

"We acknowledge the regrettable nature of that incident, our officials are engaging with their Polish counterparts to resolve the impasse so that the PPS team and media can proceed with their journey as planned as well as be able to at least [be at] the Russian leg of the peace talks.

"We are deeply disturbed by the experience they have gone through and we are engaging our Polish counterparts to see to it that the situation is resolved," Magwenya said on Friday.

President Ramaphosa arrived in Ukraine on Friday after having met with his Polish counterpart, President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw on Thursday.

President Ramaphosa previously said the aim of the mission is to hear from both leaders what it will take to bring an end to war, which broke out in February last year.

Read the original article on SAnews.gov.za.

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