The Russia-Ukraine war was among the issues discussed by US secretary of state Antony Blinken and international relations and co-operation minister Naledi Pandor on Monday.

Pandor said she appreciated that Blinken did not force SA to take sides in the conflict which started in February.

“Some of our interactions with some of our partners in Europe and elsewhere, there has been a sense of patronising bullying to say ‘you choose this, or else’,” said Pandor.

“We may differ in terms of economic power and economic ability to influence governments in different parts of the world, but what will make the world work is if we respect each other.

“I certainly will not be bullied that way, nor will I expect any other African country worth its salt to be treated that way.

“Our trade with Russia is less than $4bn [about R66.52bn] annually compared to $20bn with respect to the US, so this fear that we exist under some push is a totally unfounded belief,” said Pandor, adding that SA has been clear in advocating for peace.

“We support a search for peace. We are appalled by war, we abhor war in that it brings untold suffering which is something we experienced under apartheid.

“We should be equally concerned at what’s happening to the people of Palestine as we are about what is happening to the people of Ukraine. We have not seen an even-handed approach in use of prescripts of international law.”

While she welcomed the ceasefire in Palestine, Pandor expressed concern at the number of civilians who had been killed and infrastructure that has been destroyed.

“The people of Palestine are living in buildings that are shells and this worries us, having experienced apartheid ourselves and living in corridors. We think there is work for the world to do in ensuring we create peace in Palestine and have a two-state solution where you have two nations existing in peace, side by side.”

Blinken, who last visited in 2013 when former president Barack Obama was in the country, said what happens in SA reverberates around the world.

The talks covered what President Cyril Ramaphosa and US President Joe Biden discussed earlier on health, climate change, infrastructure and trade .

“We agreed to not only share approaches on issues but also to take concrete steps to deepen our co-operation... and implementing what we say and holding ourselves accountable to progress we made.”

Blinken said the repercussions of the war in the Ukraine had been felt globally, especially in Africa, in rising food and energy prices.

“Since the Russian aggression began we have provided $5.5bn in food aid worldwide ... and an additional $150m was announced in humanitarian funding for Africa, but we want to also strengthen the foundation of food security across Africa.

“If we allow a big country to bully a smaller one and simply invade it ... then it’s going to be open season, not just in Europe, but around the world and there will be repercussions here and repercussions everywhere, which is why we’ve felt it’s important to stand up for those principles.”

On democracy in Africa, Pandor said the reality is “there has been a lot of external interferences in Africa and a lot of that external interference has fuelled the conflict in many African countries”.

“It’s fuelled a lot of instability and supported opposition groups against liberation fighters. "

This was a result of Africa’s mineral riches which made it a target for external players who did not always have the interests of Africa at heart.

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