Source: US ambassador accuses South Africa of supplying arms to Russia – BBC News
The US envoy to South Africa has accused the country of supplying weapons to Russia despite its professed neutrality in the war in Ukraine.
Ambassador Reuben Brigety told local media he was “confident” that a Russian ship was loaded with ammunition and weapons in Cape Town last December.
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa said his government was looking into the claims.
The country has maintained claims of neutrality in the invasion of Ukraine.
Mr Brigety said at a media briefing in Pretoria on Thursday that Washington had concerns about the country’s stated non-aligned stance on the conflict.
He referred to the docking of a cargo ship in the Simon’s Town naval base between 6 and 8 December last year which he was “confident” uploaded weapons and ammunition “as it made its way back to Russia”.
“The arming of the Russians is extremely serious, and we do not consider this issue to be resolved,” he said.
He added that the US also had concerns about South Africa’s participation in military exercises with Russia and China during the anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine.
The naval exercises took place over 10 days in February and were criticised by opposition figures as an endorsement of the Russian invasion.
The South African authorities denied the war games were provocatively timed to coincide with the one-year anniversary and said the country routinely hosts similar drills with other nations, including France and the US.
South Africa previously abstained from a UN vote condemning the invasion. It also refused to join the US and Europe in imposing sanctions on Russia.
In response to a question raised by the leader of the opposition John Steenhuisen, Mr Ramaphosa told parliament on Thursday that the comments made by the US ambassador would be looked into.
The president asked opposition parties to allow for the process to be completed.
The US State Department has not yet commented on the claims.
美国驻南非特使指责该国向俄罗斯提供武器，尽管该国声称在乌克兰战争中保持中立。鲁本布里奇蒂大使告诉当地媒体，他“确信”，去年 12 月在开普敦有一艘俄罗斯船只装载了弹药和武器。 南非总统西里尔·拉马福萨表示，他的政府正在调查这些说法。 该国一直声称在入侵乌克兰方面保持中立。
布里奇蒂先生周四在比勒陀利亚举行的媒体发布会上表示，华盛顿对该国在这场冲突中声称的不结盟立场感到担忧。 他提到去年 12 月 6 日至 8 日期间一艘货船停靠在西蒙镇海军基地，他“确信”在“返回俄罗斯的途中”装载了武器和弹药。 他说，“俄罗斯人武器问题非常严重，我们认为这个问题没有得到解决。” 他补充说，美国还对南非在入侵乌克兰周年纪念日期间与俄罗斯和中国参加军事演习表示担忧。 海军演习在 2 月举行了 10 多天，被反对派人士批评为支持俄罗斯入侵。 南非当局否认军演被挑衅性地安排在入侵周年之际，并表示该国经常与包括法国和美国在内的其他国家举办类似的演习。
南非此前在联合国谴责入侵的投票中投了弃权票。它还拒绝加入美国和欧洲对俄罗斯实施制裁。 周四，拉马福萨先生在回答反对党领袖约翰·斯汀豪森提出的问题时告诉议会，美国大使的评论将被重视。 总统要求反对党等待调查完成。 美国国务院尚未对这些说法发表评论。
