The US envoy to South Africa stated on Thursday that a Russian ship had acquired weapons in the continent in 2022, in a violation of Pretoria’s neutral stance in the war in Ukraine. In a statement, the office of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that the government is initiating an investigation into the accusations under a retired judge.
However, the South African President did not assure anything about the shipment, when asked by an opposition leader in the parliament.
South Africa and rand’s, American nonprofit global policy think tank, 2030 government deal was running at a loss due to US claims as currency traders were concerned about possible sanctions by the West on South Africa.
In a briefing with journalists, Rueben Brigety, the US ambassador to South Africa, said that the US was sure that a Russian ship had procured armaments from South Africa in December 2022.
Brigety said, “Amongst the things we noted was the docking of the Russian cargo ship Lady R in Simon’s Town between Dec. 6 and Dec. 8, 2022, which we are confidently uploaded weapons, ammunitions … as it made its way back to Russia.”
“Arming of Russia by South Africa with the vessel … is fundamentally unacceptable,” he added and said that senior US officials had “profound concerns” about South Africa’s breach of the policy regarding non-alignment and neutrality in the case of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In a recording of the briefing heard by the British news agency, Reuters, he said that it “does not suggest to us the actions of a non-aligned country.”
South Africa is among the crucial allies of Russia in Africa which has mixed views regarding Russian invasion of Ukraine. On the other hand, it claims to be neutral on the war and has refused to participate in UN resolutions on it.
US warning on helping Russia
Previously, Brigety was a researcher in the arms division of Human Rights Watch, according to the website of the US embassy in South Africa.
Washington has notified countries not to avail material support to Russia and warned them that if they do so, their access to the most important market of the world would be denied.
Vedant Patel, a spokesperson of the US State Department deputy, did not mention the charges of ammunition being loaded on the Russian ship. He informed reporters regarding the concerns Washington had about the ship anchored at the port in South Africa and this issue was taken up with several South African officials.
Patel said, “We have been quite clear and have not parsed words about any country taking steps to support Russia’s illegal and brutal war in Ukraine, and we will continue to engage with partners and countries on this topic.” When he was asked about South Africa’s pledge of an inquiry, he said, “it would certainly be a welcome step.”
Brigety’s comments in Pretoria came after he had earlier accompanied an important South African delegation to the US to discuss the relationship of South Africa with Russia. Cyril Ramaphosa said that the allegations regarding the shipment of weapons on the Russian vessels were addressed with the US officials who permitted the inquiry to go on and Washington had yielded no concrete evidence at the time.
In a statement, the president said, “The Ambassador’s remarks undermine the spirit of cooperation and partnership that characterized the recent engagements between US government officials and a South African official delegation.”
In February, South Africa accompanied Russia and China in a naval exercise, which has become a matter of concern for the US and other Western countries.
