MOSCOW (Sputnik) – South African President Jacob Zuma has invited Russian president Vladimir Putin to visit Pretoria in 2016, the top diplomat of the African country said Thursday.
"President Putin has not been to South Africa for a while. So we think he should consider having his excellency, invited by President Zuma, to come visit South Africa in 2016," Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane told reporters. "It's long overdue."
Nkoana-Mashabane is in Moscow to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
The South African diplomat extended her condolences to Lavrov and to the families of the victims of the recent air crash of a Russian-owned Airbus A321 late last month and offered Pretoria’s assistance.
Lavrov noted the stable growth in relations between the countries, and pointed out that Putin and Zuma have met twice this year, highlighting the importance of coordinating on first-priority national and global issues.
