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CAPE TOWN, South Africa — The United States understands that South Africa loaded arms and ammunition on a Russian ship docked at the country’s main naval base in December, Washington’s envoy to South Africa said Thursday.
US Ambassador to South Africa Reuben Brigety told a press round that the United States is taking the matter seriously and had raised concerns about arming Russia during recent diplomatic and trade talks with a visiting South African delegation in Washington.
Brigety, who attended the Washington meetings, said the weapons and ammunition were placed on the ship Lady R, which docked at Simon’s Town Naval Base outside Cape Town between December 6 and 8.
“We are confident that weapons were loaded onto this ship and I would bet my life that this claim was correct,” Brigety said, according to media excerpts from the roundtable. “Against this background, the departure from South Africa’s non-aligned policy by the December 6-8 measures is inexplicable.” Brigety provided no evidence for his claim.
The allegations add a new, explosive element to the United States’ already strained handling of leading developing countries over President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. While the Biden administration has touted the formation of an international alliance to support Ukraine as a key foreign policy achievement, outside of Europe and a handful of US allies in Asia, the picture is very different.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa told parliament on Thursday that he was aware of the ambassador’s statements but had neither confirmed nor denied the allegations. “I know the matter is under investigation,” Ramaphosa said, referring to the ship’s docking. “In time we will be able to talk about it.”
The President’s office later expressed its concern in a statement, calling the ambassador’s comments “disappointing”.
“The ambassador’s comments undermine the spirit of cooperation and partnership that characterized recent talks between US government officials and an official South African delegation,” Ramaphosa’s office said, acknowledging that the issue of the ship had been raised at meetings. “The matter of Lady R has been discussed and it has been agreed that an investigation may proceed and that the US intelligence community will release any evidence in its possession,” it said.
The leaders of other developing countries, including Brazil, Colombia and India, have criticized the West’s position on the war or maintained close economic ties with Moscow despite Western efforts to starve the Kremlin of cash. Less prosperous countries were also hardest hit by the rise in food prices that accompanied the invasion.
While the African Union has condemned Russia’s invasion, many countries on the continent have sought to remain aside. South Africa refused to take a stand or denounce the invasion, saying the conflict should be resolved through negotiations. When Foreign Minister Antony Blinken visited South Africa last year, Ramaphosa’s foreign minister said her country was not being pressured to take sides.
South Africa was part of it a large bloc of African nations that abstained in a series of votes before the United Nations calling for Russia to withdraw its troops.
In February, South Africa and Russia, along with China, conducted joint naval exercises off the South African coast. US officials had raised concerns about the timing of the drills.
Photos of the unmarked Russian ship arriving at the naval base and loading containers from trucks onto the ship late at night were widely circulated on South Africa’s social media.
The South African authorities neither officially declared the ship’s arrival nor confirmed its existence.
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State Department spokesman Vedant Patel declined to discuss the details of Brigety’s comments in Washington Thursday, but said the US government had “serious concerns” about the shipwreck. He said the Biden administration remains true to the “positive agenda” of its relations with South Africa.
“What I want to say is that we have been very clear and have not analyzed any words about any country taking steps to support Russia’s illegal and brutal war in Ukraine,” he said.
A US official told the Washington Post in February that the United States had sent a formal warning to the South African government that any organization interacting with the ship could face secondary sanctions.
Washington has repeatedly warned China, Russia’s most powerful partner, against providing the Kremlin with weapons to use in Ukraine. Sanctions were also imposed on Iran for supplying Russia with drones used to attack Ukrainian cities.
South Africa’s relations with Moscow date back to the Cold War, when the current African National Congress was supported by the Soviet Union in its fight 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.
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South Africa’s opposition Democratic Alliance party leader John Steenhuisen said Brigety’s comments were “appalling and deeply disturbing”.
“This development proves not only that South Africa is not impartial in Russia’s war against Ukraine, but also that President Ramaphosa and his administration have already lied to South Africa and the world about our country’s involvement in this devastating conflict,” Steenhuisen said in one Explanation . “The ANC is siding with Russia for one reason alone: because the Russian Federation is funding the ANC, thereby subverting and destabilizing South African democracy,” Steenhuisen said.
Ryan reported from Washington. John Hudson in Washington contributed to this report.