Sub-Saharan Africa
Sputnik brings you all the most recent information, major events, heroes and views, including breaking news, images, videos, analyses, and features.

Russian Embassy: US Tries to 'Sway' South African Foreign Policy Through Accusations

16:30, 16 May 2023
© Photo
/
Go to the mediabank
Maxim Grishenkin
Writer
All materials
The US ambassador to South Africa previously alleged that Pretoria had loaded weapons onto Russian ship Lady R, which docked at the Simon's Town naval base last December, despite its neutral stance on Moscow's special military operation.
Sputnik
The Russian Embassy in South Africa commented on the US Ambassador Reuben Brigety's unfounded accusation of Pretoria sending weapons to Russia, calling it an attempt to sway the independent sovereign state's foreign policy.

"Appointing guilty parties at own discretion and resorting to ‘megaphone diplomacy’ have become typical characteristics of US foreign policy. In this context, the words of the US’ official cannot be perceived otherwise than as an attempt to sway the independent sovereign state’s foreign policy," the embassy said.

"This comes as no surprise, as the US seems to have lost its ability to interact with partners on equal basis long ago. One’s friendship with the US is only possible under US rules," it added.
The embassy also noted that South Africa is under increasing pressure, "obviously coordinated with Western mainstream media" because of its non-aligned position with regard to the Ukraine conflict, which proves "unsatisfactory for the United States", which is looking for an excuse to rock the country.

"[The] Docking of Lady R in Simonstown is being used as a pretext – totally fabricated and as false as the notorious tube presented by US’ State Secretary Colin Powell at the United Nations Security Council, which was followed by a full-scale invasion of Iraq and cost the lives of 1 million Iraqis (we hope it won’t come to that now)," the embassy stated.

The embassy pointed out the hypocrisy of the US ambassador, who kept quiet about the fact that the US has been transferring weapons to Ukraine since 2014 which have been used to attack cities in Donbass, as well as the Bryansk and Belgorod regions of Russia on a daily basis.
According to the Russian diplomats, the American ambassador's accusations are not only baseless but also lack common sense.

"If Ambassador Brigety takes this matter seriously then why doesn’t he explain why Russia would need SA-produced arms and ammunition matching neither the types nor the calibers of the systems currently in service with Russia’s Armed Forces and how such a minuscule amount of 'arms and ammunition' that was allegedly 'uploaded onto the vessel' would influence the situation on the battlefield anyway?" the Russian embassy wondered.

Brigety later admitted that he crossed the line and issued an apology after an official protest from the South African Foreign Ministry, the body said in a statement.
According to the South African presidency, Brigety's allegations undermined "the spirit of cooperation and partnership" between South Africa and the US.
Earlier in the day, a US State Department spokesman said that the US will further be committed to its relationship with South Africa amid rising tensions over the allegations.
Since then, the US Defense Department spokesperson Pat Ryder stressed that the United States takes seriously and closely monitors the situation regarding alleged shipments of military equipment from South Africa to Russia.
The embassy statement comes as South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said earlier that Pretoria has been facing "extraordinary pressure" to abandon its position of being neutral and choose sides in the confrontation between Russia and the West.
Sub-Saharan Africa
South Africa Under 'Extraordinary Pressure' to Pick Sides in Ukraine Conflict
15 May 2023, 14:17
Sub-Saharan AfricaSouth AfricaRussiaUnited States (US)Southern AfricaInternational