'Keep it up,' Ramaphosa tells Biden after first black female Supreme Court justice appointed

• President Cyril Ramaphosa and US President Joe Biden had a phone call on Friday.  
• They discussed the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  
• Ramaphosa also congratulated Biden on the confirmation of Judge Ketanji Jackson Brown as the first black woman Justice of the Supreme Court.

"Keep it up."

That was what President Cyril Ramaphosa told US President Joe Biden, following confirmation of the appointment of the country's first black female Justice of the Supreme Court. 

The US Senate confirmed the appointment of Judge Ketanji Jackson Brown as Justice of the Supreme Court.

Ramaphosa and Biden spoke on the phone on Friday. 

From the South Lawn at the White House, Biden said he and Ramaphosa discussed Jackson Brown's appointment.

"I said I am shortly going to go out and introduce to the world the first African-American woman out of over 200 judges in the Supreme Court. And he said to me, keep it up. We are going to keep it up." 

READ |  Biden calls Ramaphosa after SA again abstains in UN vote on Russia-Ukraine

During the phone call, the two presidents also discussed the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.  

South Africa abstained from voting on a UN resolution on the invasion for the third time on Thursday, saying it believed the tabling of the resolution was premature and "prejudged the outcomes" of an independent, international commission of inquiry.

"We shared views on the conflict in Ukraine and agreed on the need for a ceasefire and dialogue between Ukraine and Russia," Ramaphosa posted on Twitter.

In a statement, the White House said: "President Biden emphasised the need for a clear, unified international response to Russian aggression in Ukraine. The leaders also shared views on the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and the impact of the crisis on supply chains, commodity prices, and food security in Africa."  

Ramaphosa said he had a productive call with the US president "as part of deepening relations".

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