An intervention other than ordinary political discussion was needed to deal with the African National Congress Youth League's (ANCYL's) comments on helping to bring about regime change in Botswana, President Jacob Zuma has told the City Press.

This was because of the severity of the statements, Zuma said in an interview published in the front page of the newspaper on Sunday.

The call made by ANCYL president Julius Malema was "very serious" and not in keeping with African National Congress (ANC) policies, Zuma said.

"We are not going to be like the apartheid government and interfere with our neighbours. We promote good neighbourliness and we don't interfere in the internal affairs of other people," he said.

Last week, Malema said the ANCYL was sending a team to Botswana to consolidate local opposition parties, as it believed the government there was "in full cooperation with imperialists" and was undermining the "African agenda".

Zuma told the City Press that Malema's comments suggested that the ANCYL saw the Botswana government as illegitimate.

"The ANCYL looks at Botswana as if the government was not elected by the people of Botswana.

"If you are a democrat, you have to understand democracy," he said.

Zuma said Botswana regularly held elections and its government was elected by the people.

On Saturday the ANCYL said it was withdrawing its statement and it apologised to the ANC.

ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu said it was now up to party officials to decide whether the apology "would undo the damage" caused by Malema's statements, the Sunday Independent reported.

"After the ANC rebuked the youth league, they defied [the ANC] and went on until the president spoke on the matter today [Saturday]. We are shocked that there is now such an apology," Mthembu told the newspaper.