The US accused South Africa of supplying weapons and ammunition to Russia last December, despite its claim that it is neutral in the war Russia is fighting in Ukraine. The US ambassador to Pretoria, Reuben Brigety said in a briefing with journalists that the arms were loaded on to a Russian ship that had docked at a naval base in Simon’s Town.
South Africa’s News24 website quoted the ambassador as saying: “Among the things we noted was the docking of the cargo ship in the Simon’s Town naval base between 6th to 8th December 2022, which we are confident uploaded weapons and ammunition onto that vessel in Simon’s Town as it made its way back to Russia”
Questioned on how accurate the US’s intelligence was that South Africa supplied ammunition to Russia, Brigety said he would bet his life on it, according to local media sources.
It would be “a mistake to underestimate the concerns in Washington,” the TimesLive news site quoted Brigety as saying.
During his questions and answers session in Parliament this afternoon, South African President Ramaphosa neither denied nor confirmed this. Ramaphosa told parliament that “the matter is being looked into,” after the opposition questioned him about the ambassador’s claims.