South Africa accused of supplying arms to Moscow
THE US ambassador to South Africa has accused the country of providing weapons to Russia.
Reuben Brigety claimed a Russian ship was loaded with ammunition and arms at a naval base near Cape Town last December.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said an investigation was underway.
Mr Brigety, inset, said that South Africa’s alleged arming of Russia during its invasion of Ukraine was “extremely serious” and called into question the country’s supposed neutral stance on the conflict.
In a statement, Ramaphosa’s office acknowledged a Russian ship named the Lady R docked in South Africa, but did not say where, or what the purpose of the stop was.
The statement criticised the
American ambassador for going public and said there was an agreement that US intelligence services would provide whatever evidence they have to aid South Africa’s investigation.
The US has been critical of South Africa’s closeness to Russia for some time. It hosted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for talks in January, giving him a platform to blame the West for the war. Weeks later, it allowed warships from the Russian and Chinese navies to perform drills off its east coast.
South Africa also faces a diplomatic dilemma over a possible visit this summer by Russian PresidentVladimir Putin, who is the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for alleged war crimes.
Putin is due to visit in August for a meeting of leaders of the Brics economic bloc, which is made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.