Mmegi: The conflict with Russia is heading towards its third year. What is your sense in terms of Africa’s support for Ukraine on international platforms? Is it adequate or where would you like to see greater support?
Abravitova: I think that we have to first of all look at Africa, not conglomeratively. We have to analyse the level of cooperation and connection and the support from country to country. The continent is very diverse; 54 countries with different dynamics and bilateral relations. We can look at the dynamics from Russia’s annexation of Crimea to the invasion of Ukraine and we will see that there are countries like Botswana that are consistently standing for democracy, human rights, the principles of international law, and the United Nations Charter.
We have a lot of countries in Africa that have been consistent but there are also those who took the position of standing and watching the developments when they decided to keep a neutral stance. From country to country, the reasons for that differ.
I would want to say that the recent Summit on Peace that happened in Switzerland showed a very big interest and attendance by African countries and as of today we already have 11 African countries that have signed the final communique from there.
Mmegi: When the invasion by Russia first began, it contributed to runaway inflation around food and fuel around the world, especially in Africa. This in turn led to urgent calls for a ceasefire. Inflation from both food and fuel has largely eased since then. Do you think that has affected the momentum or urgency to see a ceasefire from African countries?
Abravitova: It’s a deep question but I want to stress that Russia was trying to get the world tired of its violations and its invasion and there was a moment after 2022 when we saw the signs of this tiredness when the informational environment was not really reporting on the war of Ukraine anymore.
However, I guess it has been changing because more countries in Africa also realise that Russia’s war in the Ukraine does have consequences and repercussions. That’s why we see more engagements from African countries with the Ukraine and more initiatives on how certain countries can contribute to restore just peace for Ukraine.
The world nowadays is very interlinked and interconnected and any conflict particularly of this scope will affect every country in the world, to different extents. That’s why every country is interested in the resolution of the conflict, but I also want to add that every country in Africa has to be interested in the just resolution of the conflict because if any cessation is made that is against the territorial integrity or sovereignty of Ukraine, that will very soon most probably have major effects on the countries in Africa.
That’s why in Ukraine we are today not only protecting Ukraine’s territory but the concept of territorial integrity which is the base for the United Nations Charter.
Mmegi: Are you concerned at all that for some regions such as Southern Africa, that are further removed from the conflict in terms of material impact on economies, that the longer the invasion lasts, there could be a desensitisation or normalisation?
Abravitova: The war of aggression of Russia against Ukraine has been running for 10 years and we can be rest assured that the longer it lasts will make the negotiations and solutions more difficult.
But we must not lose focus that we are not talking about how many attempts have been made to negotiate the end of the war. There are more than 90 different negotiations that have happened since 2014 and the reason for them not being successful is only one: Russia does not want the end of the war; Russia wants to continue.
I think that the solution here is to make sure that Russia cannot wage its war anymore. The solution is with the international community to put Russia in conditions where it cannot wage its war anymore and this is why we are working on the Peace Summit.
Mmegi: Often when conflicts run over years, there’s a tendency for the world to move on to new emerging threats and wars. How can the momentum to end Russia’s activities in Ukraine be maintained? How can Ukraine remain topmost of the world’s minds?
Abravitova: We are talking about different conflicts that we have seen during the history of the world, but the war of aggression by Russia against Ukraine has had big traction in the media in the world.
Every big and small country has been showing news about it every day for three years at least. What is the answer? Why is this conflict different from others? Why are we even talking about the momentum of attracting attention to this war of aggression?
This conflict is different because this is the first time in the history of the world up to the Second World War where one country that holds nuclear weapons attacks another country that abandoned its nuclear weapons. A country that is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council is violating every single principle of the United Nations Charter. That’s why this issue cannot be erased from the attention, agenda and news and it will not be unless it is resolved. Every country which positions itself as a country that respects the United Nations Charter and international law has an obligation to contribute to the just solution of this conflict.
Mmegi: You were previously quoted in the local media as saying there was some level of indifference to the invasion in Botswana. You have also engaged with local politicians and business people. What would you like to see specifically come out of these engagements?
Abravitova: I think clearly this was taken out of context. I called for further solidarity and not to become indifferent towards the people of Ukraine, towards the values that we are protecting because we are doing it for you as well. We need to see more solidarity. Our people in Ukraine have been suffering for many years in order to have the right to self-identify and self-determination and we encourage the people of Botswana to learn more about Ukraine and Ukrainians, about our culture, our economy and the perspectives that can be introduced.
Indifference is not about paying attention. Indifference is about putting the attention of different activists, NGOs, and businesses, in the right direction. How are we going to build a better future for our nations; for Ukraine and Botswana?
Mmegi: What was the significance of Ukraine opening an embassy in Botswana recently?
Abravitova: The significance is first of all, Ukraine is getting back on track of bilateral relations between our countries. After 30 years of being almost absent in the dialogue, in the bilateral cooperation, but being recognised as a country that is important in many ways, such as global food security, we really want our footprint that we established a long time ago, to be revived.
It’s like a renaissance of Ukraine in Botswana. It’s like the platform that opened the door for Ukrainian people to know more about Botswana and also for Botswana people to know more about Ukraine. It’s for the businesses to be able to receive consultation and engage through officials on the perspectives of cooperation.
It is cultural projects, sports projects and others that can be established together. The embassy is just a mechanism and the more important thing is to get to know each other better and that’s one of the aims of the embassy: to introduce Ukraine in all its best practices to Botswana.
