LadyRussiagate: Dirco says US ambassador Brigety 'apologised unreservedly' for Russia arms claim
Rheinmetall Denel Munition denied any involvement in supplying weapons to Russia.
Mbalula was responding to US Ambassador Reuben Brigety's statement that SA provided ammunition to Russia through the Simon's Town navy base in December 2022. "There are clashes which we have at the party level with the United Sates in terms of the ideology, which is very clear we don't share. And there is no problem with that. We don't agree with them when it comes to the [Russian] blockade.""We don't believe in war. We believe in peaceful resolution. We are very clear on Ukraine-Russia situation.
The allegations stemmed from the docking of Russian Ship Lady R in the Simon's Town naval base in December last year. Join Mihlali Ntsabo in conversation with News24 senior politics reporter Juniour Khumalo and Pieter du Toit, News24's Assistant Editor, for in-depth analysis on the fallout.Rheinmetall Denel Munition , which operates in the Western Cape and supplies arms to forces in South Africa and other countries, has denied having any involvement in supplying weapons to Russia.
Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said it was just impossible to believe that the South African government has no idea what was loaded on to a US-sanctioned Russian ship that docked in Simons Town last year. Communicating this, Dirco spokesperson Clayson Monyela said"DIRCO will today démarche the USA Ambassador to South Africa following his remarks yesterday. We'll issue a detailed statement after the meeting."He added that Minister Naledi Pandor would also speak to her USA counterpart, Secretary Antony Blinken, this afternoon on SA's decision to take action against Brigety.
South Africa"didn't approve any arms to Russia," Mondli Gungubele told radio station 702, according to a Twitter post by radio host Clement Manyathela. Yellen and Lindner met on the sidelines of a Group of Seven finance officials meeting in Niigata, Japan, where US officials have called for redoubled support of Ukraine.
- There was a deadlock in diplomatic talks about SA violating its own non-aligned stance on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. #LadyRussiagate | It won't be sanctions if the US punishes SA, it'll be AGOA – and it will hurt Ramaphosa's spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, released a much-awaited statement on Thursday night in the wake of claims by the US Ambassador to South Africa, Reuben Brigety, that South Africa provided arms to Russia via the Lady R vessel. The US state department on Thursday took a much more cautious approach than that of the US ambassador in South Africa.
EFF leader, Julius Malema, says America's concerns are misplaced and that the current government hasn't got the capacity to supply weapons to Russia. He also claimed this was a way by America to put pressure on South Africa ahead of the BRICS summit, amid calls for the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The US has serious concerns about the docking of a sanctioned Russian cargo vessel at a Simon's Town naval port in December last year and has raised those concerns directly with multiple South African officials, Patel said. The Presidency said it noted with concern the remarks by the United States Ambassador to South Africa, Reuben Brigety, alleging the supply by South Africa of weapons to Russia.
In recent engagements between the South African delegation and US officials, the Lady R matter was discussed and there was agreement that an investigation will be allowed to run its course and that the US intelligence services will provide whatever evidence in their possession,” Magwenya said.
During his first official one-on-one engagement with Ramaphosa at the July 2018 BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, Putin reportedly ‘raised the subject of a nuclear deal’ with the newly elected South African president.[i] ‘While we remain committed to an energy mix that includes nuclear, South Africa is not yet at the point where it is able to sign on the dotted line,’ Ramaphosa’s then spokesperson Khusela Diko said about the meeting between the two leaders.
Duduzane also confirmed that he had accompanied his father to Moscow so that he could receive treatment for his alleged poisoning, and he praised the ‘excellent’ Russian medical staff who treated him.Zuma also revealed that he had reached out directly to President Vladimir Putin, whom he referred to as"my friend", when he started suspecting that he had been poisoned.
Zuma claimed, as he had done before, that the reason he was targeted was his role in the anti-apartheid struggle, as well as"my political beliefs".Russia's apparent influence over the South African government was manifest during the administration of former president Jacob Zuma - to the point that then Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene believed he had been fired in December 2015 because he was perceived to be blocking a R1 trillion deal with Russian nuclear agency Rosatom.
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