“The goal is to have a conversation about the conflict in Ukraine: how we got here, and how to get out of it, and hearing from President Ramaphosa about his thoughts on how best to move forward, sharing ours on how to manage the conflict and come to a conclusion,” the senior Biden administration official said.
Mr Biden, who has spearheaded an international coalition to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin for the nearly seven-month war in Ukraine, wants South Africa to help him in his efforts, including by forcing Moscow sell its oil at below-market prices.
The two leaders are also expected to discuss trade, climate and energy, as Biden steps up engagement with African countries and casts a wary eye on the investments and diplomacy of rivals Russia and China in the continent.
Ramaphosa has resisted calls to directly condemn Russia for the war, instead opposing the use of force in a generic way. In March, he blamed NATO’s eastward expansion for regional instability and said the conflict should be resolved through UN-mediated negotiations rather than directed sanctions. by the West that harm “spectator countries”.
South Africa was one of 17 African countries to abstain from the UN vote condemning Russia’s assault.
Ramaphosa’s African National Congress (ANC) party, which has governed South Africa since the end of white-minority rule in 1994, has close ties to the former Soviet Union, which has trained and supported anti-government activists. -apartheid during the cold war.
However, since its peaceful transition to democracy, South Africa still enjoys great diplomatic influence among Russia’s rivals in the West, relative to its economic size.
Last month, during his visit to South Africa, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States would not dictate Africa’s choices, following an earlier promise to “do things differently”, after former US President Donald Trump’s insulting remarks about African countries.
Africans often resent being the scene of competition between China, Russia and the Western order. The Ukraine crisis has exacerbated long-standing rivalry over Africa’s natural resources, trade and security ties.
War and global inflation put pressure on South Africa, where half the population lived below the poverty line even before the crisis limited grain and fertilizer exports from Russia and Ukraine.
Falling exports of natural gas and oil from these warring countries have also boosted South African coal, a prime national resource, and set back decarbonization targets for one of the world’s largest economies. carbon intensive in the world.
Mr Biden is due to welcome other leaders from the continent in December, when ANC members will also choose whether or not to keep Mr Ramaphosa as leader of their party.