South Africa: SA's Shuttle Diplomacy Between Kyiv and Moscow Is At Ukraine's Direction, Says Dirco DG

28 August 2025
Daily Maverick (Johannesburg)
By Peter Fabricius

Dirco director-general Zane Dangor, fresh from a visit to Ukraine, says Pretoria is being guided by Ukraine in its ongoing role of providing shuttle diplomacy between the warring nations of Russia and Ukraine.

South Africa is in discussions with Ukraine about whether it should continue to provide shuttle diplomacy between Russia and Ukraine in the peace process between the two warring nations, given the US's dominant role.

Zane Dangor, the director-general of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco), disclosed this at Daily Maverick's The Gathering in Cape Town on Thursday, 28 August.

Dangor had just got off a plane after returning from Ukraine, where he engaged with officials from that country's foreign ministry and presidency and members of the national security community about what role SA should play in the peace process.

He told Daily Maverick's Ferial Haffajee that SA had been part of the international discussions on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's peace formula since May 2023.

He said he went to Ukraine to ensure that in the new environment where the US appeared to be taking over the peace process, the principles to which SA adhered were still being observed. These included an unconditional ceasefire and...

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