US downplays arms standoff with South Africa over Russia’s claim

Joe Biden’s administration is trying to ease a rift with South Africa over allegations that Pretoria secretly sent arms to Russia, vowing to privately address the dispute to avoid further damaging their relationship. Will signal received.

In a departure from diplomatic protocol, the US ambassador to South Africa claimed this month that the weapons had been placed on an accepted Russian ship under the cover of darkness at the Cape Town naval base last December, later saying he had been on it “for the rest of my life”. Will bet on”.

His accusations reflected deep frustration in Washington over South Africa’s publicly supportive stance toward Moscow. Russia has forged strong ties with the ruling African National Congress, which the Soviet Union supported when it was in exile during the apartheid era.

But many in the US administration worry that publicly reprimanding or punishing so-called non-aligned countries like South Africa over their ties to Russia risks pushing them closer to Moscow.

Officials have declined to comment publicly or privately on the details of the allegation made by US Ambassador Ruben Brigitte, saying they would await the results of an investigation launched by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Two people familiar with the administration’s thinking have suggested that the ambassador had complicated matters by going public with the allegation.

South Africa’s refusal to condemn Ukraine’s invasion has angered the administration. But Washington also believes Biden has rapport with Ramaphosa and that diplomacy is the best way to handle deteriorating relations with their biggest trading partner in Africa.

A US National Security Council official said, “Ramaphosa and the South African government have said that an investigation is ongoing and we await the results.”

Analysts say Congress may still try to pressure the US government to take a tougher stand. Jim Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he shared Brigitte’s concerns about South Africa’s relationship with Moscow.

“The Biden administration should use existing officials to re-evaluate the scope and scale of our current engagement with the government of South Africa,” he said.

The diplomatic row over the Russian ship, the Lady R, reflects the delicate path Washington has to walk as it seeks to persuade reluctant members of the “global south” to support the West’s position on the Ukraine war.

Since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, the US has sought to pressure traditional strategic partners to at least remain neutral and impose international sanctions to deny Vladimir Putin’s regime money and arms He can do whatever he wants to conduct his war.

In a sign of US rapprochement on the issue, Brigitte has said she is sorry for any misconceptions created by her remarks about South Africa.

Ramaphosa has identified a retired judge to lead the Lady R inquiry, but has not yet named that person or finalized the inquiry’s terms of reference, his office said this week.

His government has denied selling weapons to Russia and suggested that if any transfers have occurred, it has been by a rogue actor. Ramaphosa’s spokesman said this week that the government had not yet received concrete evidence for the US claim regarding the ship.

Patrick Gaspard, ambassador to South Africa from 2013-2016 and now president of the Center for American Progress think-tank, said both sides are keen to reduce tensions.

“There’s been a kind of reckoning with the seriousness of what a truly broken relationship would mean between the US and South Africa, who are incredibly important allies,” he said.

“There are still serious issues here but these issues are being addressed at the diplomatic table.”

However, there is still deep hostility towards the US within the ANC, which has publicly accused Washington of provoking the Ukraine war. The party’s ties with Russia strengthened under former South African president Jacob Zuma, who worked closely with Moscow in exile under apartheid.

Zuma, whose government became notorious for corruption of state bodies, was a strong supporter of Russia’s effort to build nuclear plants in South Africa. The deal was canceled by order of a South African court.

“There is a really significant part of the South African establishment that believes the US is some kind of adversary,” said Michelle Gavin, senior fellow for Africa Policy Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. “They believe that it is by definition in the South African interest to somehow counter American interests.”

South Africa’s main opposition and business leaders have warned that the Lady R dispute could disrupt commercial ties with the US that are vital to the country’s blackout-hit economy. South African exports to the US worth more than $15 billion in 2021 under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, a US law that grants duty-free conditions to specific nations.

Joe Biden’s administration is trying to ease a rift with South Africa over allegations that Pretoria secretly sent arms to Russia, vowing to privately address the dispute to avoid further damaging their relationship. Will signal received.

In a departure from diplomatic protocol, the US ambassador to South Africa claimed this month that the weapons had been placed on an accepted Russian ship under the cover of darkness at the Cape Town naval base last December, later saying he had been on it “for the rest of my life”. Will bet on”.

His accusations reflected deep frustration in Washington over South Africa’s publicly supportive stance toward Moscow. Russia has forged strong ties with the ruling African National Congress, which the Soviet Union supported when it was in exile during the apartheid era.

But many in the US administration worry that publicly reprimanding or punishing so-called non-aligned countries like South Africa over their ties to Russia risks pushing them closer to Moscow.

Officials have declined to comment publicly or privately on the details of the allegation made by US Ambassador Ruben Brigitte, saying they would await the results of an investigation launched by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Two people familiar with the administration’s thinking have suggested that the ambassador had complicated matters by going public with the allegation.

South Africa’s refusal to condemn Ukraine’s invasion has angered the administration. But Washington also believes Biden has rapport with Ramaphosa and that diplomacy is the best way to handle deteriorating relations with their biggest trading partner in Africa.

A US National Security Council official said, “Ramaphosa and the South African government have said that an investigation is ongoing and we await the results.”

Analysts say Congress may still try to pressure the US government to take a tougher stand. Jim Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he shared Brigitte’s concerns about South Africa’s relationship with Moscow.

“The Biden administration should use existing officials to re-evaluate the scope and scale of our current engagement with the government of South Africa,” he said.

The diplomatic row over the Russian ship, the Lady R, reflects the delicate path Washington has to walk as it seeks to persuade reluctant members of the “global south” to support the West’s position on the Ukraine war.

Since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, the US has sought to pressure traditional strategic partners to at least remain neutral and impose international sanctions to deny Vladimir Putin’s regime money and arms He can do whatever he wants to conduct his war.

In a sign of US rapprochement on the issue, Brigitte has said she is sorry for any misconceptions created by her remarks about South Africa.

Ramaphosa has identified a retired judge to lead the Lady R inquiry, but has not yet named that person or finalized the inquiry’s terms of reference, his office said this week.

His government has denied selling weapons to Russia and suggested that if any transfers have occurred, it has been by a rogue actor. Ramaphosa’s spokesman said this week that the government had not yet received concrete evidence for the US claim regarding the ship.

Patrick Gaspard, ambassador to South Africa from 2013-2016 and now president of the Center for American Progress think-tank, said both sides are keen to reduce tensions.

“There’s been a kind of reckoning with the seriousness of what a truly broken relationship would mean between the US and South Africa, who are incredibly important allies,” he said.

“There are still serious issues here but these issues are being addressed at the diplomatic table.”

However, there is still deep hostility towards the US within the ANC, which has publicly accused Washington of provoking the Ukraine war. The party’s ties with Russia strengthened under former South African president Jacob Zuma, who worked closely with Moscow in exile under apartheid.

Zuma, whose government became notorious for corruption of state bodies, was a strong supporter of Russia’s effort to build nuclear plants in South Africa. The deal was canceled by order of a South African court.

“There is a really significant part of the South African establishment that believes the US is some kind of adversary,” said Michelle Gavin, senior fellow for Africa Policy Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. “They believe that it is by definition in the South African interest to somehow counter American interests.”

South Africa’s main opposition and business leaders have warned that the Lady R dispute could disrupt commercial ties with the US that are vital to the country’s blackout-hit economy. South African exports to the US worth more than $15 billion in 2021 under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, a US law that grants duty-free conditions to specific nations.