US accuses South Africa of arming Russia

SOUTH AFRICA provided Russia with weapons and ammunition as Vladimir Putin waged war on Ukraine, the United States has claimed.

The country loaded arms on to a Russian vessel under sanctions in December, despite Pretoria claiming it wished to remain neutral in the conflict, according to Reuben E Brigety, the American ambassador to South Africa.

He said Washington was convinced its intelligence was correct and considered the situation to be “extremely serious”.

He made the accusations after months of frustration from the West that Cyril Ramaphosa’s government has been cosying up to Russia despite its invasion of Ukraine.

The Lady R, a 7,260-ton ship operated by a Russian company registered in Dagestan, prompted widespread speculation when it docked at a naval base outside Cape Town last year but its cargo was never confirmed.

“Among the things we noted was the docking of the cargo ship in the Simon’s Town naval base between Dec 6-8 2022 which we are confident uploaded weapons and ammunition on to that vessel in Simon’s Town as it made its way back to Russia,” Mr Brigety told News24.

“The arming of the Russians is extremely serious, and we do not consider this issue to be resolved, and we would like South Africa to [start] practising its non-alignment policy,” he said.

Erika Gibson, a leading South African defence expert, said the consignment probably contained ammunition for AK-47 assault rifles.

South Africa has claimed it does not wish to take sides in the war, and has refused to condemn the invasion.

The ruling African National Congress has had warm ties with Moscow for decades after it backed its struggle against apartheid.

South Africa hosted Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister for talks in January, about a month after the alleged visit by the Lady R.

The country held joint naval drills with Russia and China in March.