Facts. “Arming the Russians is extremely serious” and “fundamentally unacceptable”. This was stated Thursday, May 11 Reuben Brigety during a meeting with South African media. The US ambassador to South Africa has accused Pretoria of providing military support to Moscow, despite its declared neutrality in the conflict in Ukraine. According to the diplomat, the United States is convinced that “weapons and ammunition were loaded” on board a Russian cargo ship, the Lady Rmoored near Cape Town in early December 2022, “before it sails back to Russia”.
This docking of the ship in the largest naval base in the country, in Simon’s Town, had then sparked controversy in the country. The main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), had called on the government to explain how a Russian cargo ship targeted by Western sanctions was thus authorized to moor. Its defense affairs officer, Kobus Marais, wondered in particular about the reasons why this cargo ship had docked in a military port rather than a commercial one and “why there is so much secrecy” surrounding this boat.
“We are convinced that weapons were loaded on this ship and I would bet my life on the accuracy of this assertion”, insisted Thursday the American ambassador, considering that “South Africa’s deviation from its policy of non-alignment is inexplicable”.
The context. South Africa has close ties with Russia dating back to the apartheid era. The Kremlin had given its support to Nelson Mandela and the ANC in the fight against the racist regime. The country had refused to condemn the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, saying it wanted to remain neutral and prefer dialogue to end this war which triggered significant Western sanctions.
Pretoria hosted naval exercises with Russia and China in February 2023, titled “Mosi II”, shortly before the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, reigniting controversy and worrying Westerners. South Africa had justified these joint maneuvers “with the aim of sharing skills and operational knowledge”, specifying that Russia was the pilot country.
Why does it matter. The case will be investigated, announced the spokesman for the South African presidency, Vincent Magwenya. This independent investigation “entrusted to a retired judge”, according to Pretoria, will include elements of American intelligence.
Washington welcomed the announcement of this investigation. “That would be a welcome step,” State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel said soberly during a press briefing. The latter assured that the United States would “discuss directly with their South African partners” but that in the meantime, “the most worrying element is the docking of a sanctioned Russian ship in a South African naval base” .
Asked in Parliament, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that matters concerning this ship were “under examination”, adding that “when the time comes, we will be able to talk about it”. Its spokesman, Vincent Magwenya, argued that “no evidence has been provided to date to support the allegations of arms being sent by South Africa to Russia”.
The South African presidency insisted Thursday evening on this lack of evidence, regretting that “the remarks of the ambassador undermine the spirit of cooperation and partnership between the two countries”. While the issue has been discussed bilaterally “recently”, Pretoria finds it “disappointing” that the American diplomat has “adopted a counterproductive public attitude”.
This exchange of arms between the South African presidency and the United States also has political repercussions in South Africa. The Democratic Alliance on Thursday called the arms supply to Russia, if proven, a “treason” and accused the ruling ANC of trampling on the country’s values and interests “in favor of a warmonger and ‘a global despot’. “This will have major consequences. This means that our main trading and investment partners cannot trust us,” Kobus Marais told AFP.