South Africa has declared neutrality in the war launched by Russia against Ukraine, but the United States believes that weapons are supplied from the republic to the Russians.
US Ambassador to South Africa Ruben Bridgety accused the South African authorities of supplying arms and ammunition to Russia. The government of the Republic of South Africa, in turn, claims that they have not given permission for any arms exports to the Russian Federation. The case grew into an international scandal.
US Arguments
Bridgety maintains that the US has good reason to believe that South Africa is involved in the supply of arms to Russia, although she has publicly declared her neutrality on the issue of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Among the things we have noticed is the presence of the Russian cargo ship Lady R in Simonstown from December 6 to 8, 2022,” the ambassador said. “We are confident that he took out weapons, ammunition when he returned to Russia.”
In Simonstown, not far from Cape Town, there is a South African naval base. The AFP agency mentioned that the call of this ship to the base on December 6-8, 2022 has already drawn attention to the country; knowing that it itself is also under Western sanctions.
Brighetti said the US is taking the issue seriously.
“Arming the Russians is very serious, and we do not consider this problem solved, and we want South Africa to start its policy of non-alignment,” the diplomat insisted.
According to News24, when asked how accurate the US intelligence data on arms shipments was, Bridgety replied that she was ready to swear on her life.
The State Department backed its ambassador. The US is deeply concerned that a sanctioned Russian ship called at a South African port in December and has expressed this concern directly to several South African officials, US State Department Deputy Spokesman Vedant Patel told journalists.
South Africa responded
The Office of the President of South Africa said in a statement that the stay of the Russian ship in the port of South Africa was not a secret to anyone, and various assumptions were made about the reasons for its entry into the port, but nothing specific facts given. However, the statement goes on to say that the government has decided to launch an independent investigation by a retired judge.
The statement also emphasized that this issue has been discussed by officials from South Africa and the United States, and in this regard, an agreement has been reached to conduct an investigation, and American intelligence has promised to provide the data to throwing it away.
Therefore, the document goes on to say, “it is disappointing that the US ambassador has taken a counterproductive public stance that undermines the previously reached understanding on this issue.”
Pro-Russian position
South Africa has previously abstained from voting at the UN to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. South Africa has also refused to join Western sanctions against Russia.
In early May, the Sunday Times, a leading South African newspaper, said South African authorities were trying to persuade the Kremlin to drop the idea of Russian President Vladimir Putin visiting the BRICS summit in South Africa. in August.
This is due to the arrest warrant for Putin, issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. Implementation of ICC decisions is mandatory for countries that have signed the Rome Statute, including South Africa.
Unnamed senior officials told the publication that Pretoria was in talks with Moscow, offering Putin to attend the BRICS summit via video link.
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.