Joe Biden set to talk about Ukraine, Russia with Cyril Ramaphosa

US President Joe Biden will discuss efforts to end the war in Ukraine with President Cyril Ramaphosa, who has avoided condemning Russia, when the two leaders meet at the White House on Friday, according to a US official.

"The goal is to have a conversation about the conflict in Ukraine: how we got there, and how we get out of it, and in hearing from President Ramaphosa about his thoughts on the best way forward, sharing ours on how to manage the conflict and reach a conclusion," said the senior Biden administration official.

Biden, who has led an international coalition to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin for the near-seven month war in Ukraine, wants SA's help in efforts that include forcing Moscow to sell its oil at below market rates.

The two leaders are also expected to discuss trade, climate and energy as Biden ramps up engagements with African countries and casts a wary eye on investments and diplomacy by rivals Russia and China on the continent.

Ramaphosa has resisted calls to directly condemn Russia for the war, instead opposing the use of force generically. In March, he blamed NATO's eastward expansion for regional instability and said the conflict should be solved through UN-mediated negotiations rather than Western-led sanctions that hurt "bystander countries".

SA was one of 17 African countries to abstain from the UN vote condemning Russia's assault.

The ANC, which has governed SA since white minority rule ended in 1994, had strong ties to the former Soviet Union, which trained and supported anti-apartheid activists during the Cold War.

However, SA still enjoys a high level of diplomatic clout among Russia's rivals in the West relative to its economic size since its peaceful transition to democracy.

Last month, during his visit to SA, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US would not dictate Africa's choices, following an earlier pledge to "do things differently" after former US president Donald Trump's insulting remarks about African countries.

Africans often resent being a theatre for competition between China, Russia and the Western order. The Ukraine crisis has exacerbated the longstanding rivalry over Africa's natural resources, trade and security ties.

The war and global inflation have put pressure on SA, where half the population lived below the poverty line before the crisis limited grain and fertiliser exports from Russia and Ukraine.

Declining natural gas and oil exports from those warring countries has boosted SA coal, a top domestic resource, and set back decarbonisation goals for one of the world's most carbon-intensive economies.

Biden is due to host more leaders from the continent in December, when ANC members will also chose whether to keep Ramaphosa as their party leader. 

Reuters