President Cyril Ramaphosa has vowed that South Africa will not bow to geopolitical superpowers despite pressure from “vicious global right-wing forces.”
Ramaphosa made the remarks after the US pressured France into disinviting the president from the G7 Summit.
The summit – which will be held in Évian, France, in June – is an annual international forum for the leaders of the G7 member states, including France, the US and the UK.
‘Won’t bow’
Delivering the closing remarks at the Limpopo ANC election conference on Sunday, Ramaphosa said Pretoria will not bow to pressure from global forces.
“Those who believe might is right should be aware that their approach and policy are not acceptable to us in the rest of the global South because we believe in equity, multilateralism, and collaboration, rather than suppressing weaker nations.”
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‘Illegal war’
Ramaphosa said “the illegal” war that is being waged by the US and Israel is “another act of imperialism.”
“The illegal war being waged by the US and Israel is an act of imperialist aggression that has placed the global economy and international security at great risk. Now, as a country, South Africa has stood firm in the face of very powerful and vicious global right-wing forces that are working to undermine the standing and sovereignty of other nations.
“We’ve taken a principled stance, which is consistent with our independent foreign policy, and we’ve continued to support those nations that are struggling for self-determination, nations such as Palestine, Cuba and Western Sahara, in the face of threats being made and actions being taken to undermine their standing,” Ramaphosa said.
G7
Last week, Ramaphosa said there are many countries around the world that aren’t invited to the G7.
“And remember, South Africa is not a member. And when we do go, we are invited, and we take a message there.”
The president added that South Africa has not attended every G7 summit and that its absence from the 2026 edition should come as no surprise.
US tensions
Ramaphosa’s disinvitation comes at a time when diplomatic relations between South Africa and the US are volatile, with both countries throwing stones.
Things turned sour after US President Donald Trump took office last year for a second term, accusing Pretoria of enabling “white genocide”, citing farm killings – a claim rejected by South African civil society and international observers.
Trump also abstained from the 2025 G20 Leaders’ Summit hosted by South Africa, where Ramaphosa was supposed to hand over the summit’s presidency to Trump.
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