South Africa loaded weapons onto Russian vessel, U.S. envoy says
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CAPE TOWN, South Africa — The United States believes South Africa loaded weapons and ammunition onto a Russian vessel docked at the country’s main naval base in December, Washington’s envoy to South Africa said on Thursday. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russia’s war in Ukraine. ArrowRight U.S. Ambassador to South Africa Reuben Brigety told a press roundtable that the United States took the matter seriously and had raised concerns about arming Russia during recent diplomatic and trade discussions with a visiting South African delegation in Washington.
Brigety, who attended the meetings in Washington, said the weapons and ammunition were placed on the ship, the Lady R, which docked at the Simon’s Town naval base outside Cape Town between Dec. 6 and 8.
“We are confident that weapons were loaded onto that vessel and I would bet my life on the accuracy of that assertion,” Brigety said, according to media excerpts from the roundtable. “Given that, the deviation from South Africa’s policy of nonalignment by the actions of Dec. 6 through 8 are inexplicable.” Brigety offered no proof of his assertion.
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The allegations inject a combustible new element into the United States’ already strained dealings with leading developing nations over President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. While the Biden administration has touted its assembly of an international alliance in support of Ukraine as a central foreign policy achievement, the picture is very different beyond Europe and a handful of U.S. allies in Asia.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa told parliament on Thursday that he was aware of the ambassador’s remarks but did not confirm or deny the claims. “I know the matter is being looked into,” Ramaphosa said, referring to the docking of the ship. “In time we will be able to talk about it.”
Later, in a statement, the president’s office expressed concern and called the ambassador’s remarks “disappointing.”
“The ambassador’s remarks undermine the spirit of cooperation and partnership that characterized the recent engagements between the U.S. government officials and a South African official delegation,” Ramaphosa’s office said, acknowledging that the issue of the ship was raised in meetings. “The Lady R matter was discussed and there was agreement that an investigation will be allowed to run its course and that the U.S. intelligence services will provide whatever evidence in their possession,” it added.
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The leaders of other developing nations, including Brazil, Colombia and India, have expressed criticism for the West’s position on the war or maintained deep economic ties with Moscow despite Western efforts to starve the Kremlin of cash. Less affluent nations were also the hardest hit by a spike in food prices that accompanied the invasion.
While the African Union has condemned Russia’s invasion, many countries on the continent have attempted to remain on the sidelines. South Africa has refused to take a stand or denounce the invasion, saying the conflict should be resolved through negotiations. When Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited South Africa last year, Ramaphosa’s foreign minister said her country would not be bullied into taking sides.
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In February, South Africa and Russia held joint naval exercises, along with China, off the South African coast. U.S. officials had expressed concern about the timing of the exercises.
Photographs of the arrival of the unmarked Russian ship at the navy base and the loading of containers from trucks onto the ship late at night were widely circulated on social media in South Africa.
South African authorities never formally explained the arrival of the vessel, nor acknowledged its existence.
In Washington on Thursday, State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel declined to discuss the specifics of Brigety’s comments but said the U.S. government had “serious concerns” about the ship incident. He said the Biden administration remains committed to the “affirmative agenda” of its relationship with South Africa.
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“What I will say is that we have been quite clear and have not parsed words about any country taking steps to support Russia’s illegal and brutal war in Ukraine,” he said.
A U.S. official told The Washington Post in February that the United States had sent a formal warning to the South African government that any entity that interacted with the ship could face secondary sanctions.
Washington has issued repeated warnings to China, Russia’s most powerful partner, against providing the Kremlin weapons it might employ in Ukraine. It has also slapped sanctions on Iran for supplying Russia with drones that have been used to attack Ukrainian cities.
South Africa’s relations with Moscow date back to the Cold War, when the now ruling African National Congress was backed by the Soviet Union in its struggle against the apartheid government. Several senior ANC officials received military training in the Soviet Union, including two of its post-apartheid presidents, Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma.
The leader of South Africa’s opposition Democratic Alliance, John Steenhuisen, said Brigety’s comments were “chilling and deeply troubling.”
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“This development proves not only that South Africa is not nonaligned in Russia’s war on Ukraine, but that President Ramaphosa and his government have already lied to South Africa and the world as to our country’s involvement in this devastating conflict,” Steenhuisen said in a statement. “The ANC is siding with Russia for one reason alone: because the Russian Federation is funding the ANC, and thus infiltrating and destabilizing South African democracy,” Steenhuisen said.
Ryan reported from Washington. John Hudson in Washington contributed to this report.
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Source: The Washington Post
