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Shocking accusation – US claims South Africa provided arms to Russia!
The US has accused South Africa of providing arms to Russia, drawing an angry response from Pretoria. According to The Africa Report, Ambassador Reuben Brigety accused during a media briefing that the US was confident that weapons and ammunition had been loaded onto a Russian freighter that docked at a Cape Town naval base in December. Brigety’s comments are likely an attempt to influence South Africa to change its neutral stance on the Russia/Ukraine conflict. However, the President’s office struck back, stating it is “disappointing” that Brigety has “adopted a counter-productive public posture”, which “undermines the spirit of cooperation and partnership” between the two countries.
South Africa, which wields moral influence for its victory over apartheid, has led dialogue to end the conflict and wants to stay neutral over Russia’s attack on Ukraine. However, critics cite recent incidents as evidence of a tilt towards the Kremlin. South Africa held a joint military exercise with Russia and China earlier this year. Last month a sanctioned Russian military cargo plane landed at an air force base in the middle of the night to deliver what defence authorities described as “diplomatic mail”.
Also read: South Africa’s shocking U-turn: “We’re staying in ICC!” – Was it all just a communication error?
The US would like South Africa to start “practising its non-alignment policy”, Ambassador Brigety said. The main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, accused the government of trampling South Africa’s values and interests “in favour of a global war-mongerer and despot” and warned of “major consequences”. The rand dropped sharply after news of the ambassador’s remarks spread.
South Africa has strong economic and trade relations with the US and Europe. Still, it has been walking a diplomatic tightrope over the Ukraine conflict. Trade with Russia is much smaller, but Pretoria has ties with Moscow dating back decades to when the Kremlin supported the ANC in its struggle against apartheid. It is a member of BRICS and has advocated for multilateralism as a counterbalance to a US-led international order. It faced a diplomatic dilemma in March after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is due to attend a BRICS summit in South Africa in August. The warrant meant that Pretoria would have to detain Putin on arrival. In response, last month, Ramaphosa said the ANC had resolved that South Africa should quit the ICC but backtracked hours later, citing what his office called a communications “error”.
The South African government has undertaken to institute an independent inquiry led by a retired judge. The State Department in Washington welcomed the promise of a probe. It said it remains committed to its affirmative agenda with its South African partners, pointing to cooperation on public health, climate, and trade. The US has not spelt any repercussions for South Africa after repeated threats to punish China if it sends arms to Russia.
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Reports suggest that 20 thousand Russians have been killed in the Ukraine War
Picture: Twitter / ZaBornfree
