South Africa's foreign ministry has summoned the US ambassador over allegations he made that the country had provided arms and ammunition to Russia for its war in Ukraine.
Reuben Brigety told a media briefing on Thursday that the US believed weapons and ammunition had been loaded onto a Russian freighter that docked at a Cape Town naval base in December. President Cyril Ramaphosa's office hit back, saying it was "disappointing" that Brigety had "adopted a counterproductive public posture" but announced the launch of an inquiry into the affair. Vedant Patel said the US would speak out against any country taking steps to support Russia's illegal and brutal war in Ukraine. South Africa has refused to condemn the invasion of Ukraine, which has isolated Moscow on the international stage.
Critics cite several recent incidents as evidence of a tilt towards the Kremlin, such as a joint military exercise with Russia and China and 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". The main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, accused the government of trampling South Africa’s values and interests and warned of “major consequences”.
The rand, which had been softening against the dollar in recent days, dropped sharply, reaching its lowest point in three years, after news of the ambassador’s remarks spread. South Africa has strong economic and trade relations with the US and Europe and has been walking a diplomatic tightrope over the Ukraine conflict. The US ambassador, Reuben Brigety, said at a press conference that South Africa had loaded weapons and ammunition onto a Russian vessel, which is under sanctions, at the Simon’s Town naval base near Cape Town in December last year.
The South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, confirmed an investigation is underway into the visit by the Russian cargo ship. His office said there was currently “no evidence” that arms were loaded onto the vessel in South Africa. The foreign ministry said in its statement that there was “no record of an approved arms sale by the state to Russia related to the period/incident in question”. The Associated Press has independently verified that Lady R did visit the South African naval base from 6 to 8 December and that it is tied to a company that the we have sanctioned for transporting weapons for the Russian government and aiding its war effort. This issue threatens to seriously strain the relationship between the US and one of its critical African partners.
South Africa will issue a “demarche” against Brigety for his allegations, a diplomatic term that refers to a formal complaint. Ramaphosa’s office criticised Brigety for making the allegations public. South Africa has a historical relationship with Russia owing to the former Soviet Union’s support for the ruling African National Congress when it was a liberation movement fighting to end the apartheid segregation regime.
