Reuben Brigety, US Ambassador in South Africa, declared that the country had supplied weapons to Russia after its professed neutrality in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
On Thursday, the US envoy to South Africa accused the country of having covertly provided arms to Russia despite its professed neutrality in the Ukraine war, local media said.
Ambassador Reuben Brigety told a media briefing the US was “confident” weapons and ammunition had been loaded onto a Russian freighter that docked at a Cape Town naval base in December.
South Africa slammed remarks Thursday by the US ambassador in Pretoria. South African presidency qualified as ‘disappointing’ US charges of arms to Russia.
The US embassy did not immediately respond to a request for a remark about the remarks, which were confirmed to AFP by a source at the meeting.
South Africa has refused to condemn the invasion of Ukraine, which has primarily isolated Moscow on the international stage.
The country—an African powerhouse that also wields moral clout for its victory over apartheid—says it wants to stay neutral and champions dialogue to end the conflict.
But critics cite several recent incidents as evidence of a tilt toward the Kremlin.
The country has strong economic and trade relations with the US and Europe.
But it also has ties with Russia dating back decades, to when the Kremlin supported the now-ruling African National Congress (ANC) in its fight against apartheid.
It is a member of BRICS—a grouping bringing together Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—and has advocated for multilateralism as a counterbalance to a US-led international order.
Miroslava Salazar with AFP.
