US ambassador in
Pretoria accuses country of providing arms to Russia despite its stated
neutrality in the Ukraine war.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, is seen with South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, right [File: Sergei Chirikov/Pool photo via AP Photo]
Published On 11 May 202311
May 2023
South African President
Cyril Ramaphosa has said an investigation is under way after the United States
ambassador in Pretoria accused the country of having provided arms to Moscow
despite its stated neutrality on Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The government is opening
an independent inquiry led by a retired judge into the allegation, Ramaphosa’s office
said in a statement on Thursday.
Earlier, the US
ambassador to South Africa, Reuben Brigety, told local journalists in a
briefing that Washington was confident a Russian vessel had uploaded weapons
and ammunition from South Africa in December.
“Amongst the things we
noted were the docking of the Russian cargo ship Lady R in Simon’s Town between
December 6 and December 8, 2022, which we are confident uploaded weapons,
ammunitions … as it made its way back to Russia,” Brigety said in a briefing to
local journalists, as cited by the Reuters news agency.
“Arming of Russia by
South Africa with the vessel … is fundamentally unacceptable,” Brigety said,
adding that senior US officials had “profound concerns” about South Africa not
respecting its professed policy of non-alignment and neutrality with regard to
Russia’s war.
This “does not suggest to
us the actions of a non-aligned country”, he said.
Washington has repeatedly
warned countries against providing material support to Russia, cautioning that
those who do may be denied access to the world’s most important markets.
Brigety made the remarks
to journalists following his return to Pretoria after accompanying a high-level
South African delegation to the US to address concerns about South Africa’s
relationship with Russia.
South Africa
conducted joint naval exercises with
Russia and China in February – calling it routine – which the US and other Western
powers expressed concern about at the time.
Brigety said on Thursday
that the naval drills and other issues, in addition to the arms shipment, had
contributed to concerns about South Africa’s allegiance.
South Africa is one of
Russia’s most important allies on a continent divided over Moscow’s invasion of
Ukraine, but it has maintained it is impartial on the conflict and abstained
from voting on United Nations resolutions on the war.
SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/11/south-africa-investigating-us-charge-of-supplying-arms-to-russia
South
African Report Into Alleged Russian Arms Deal Due in Eight Weeks
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