South Africa rebuked the U.S. ambassador in Pretoria over his suggestion that President Cyril Ramaphosaw’s administration had supplied weapons to Russia, deepening strains between Washington and an important African partner over the war in Ukraine.
The DIRCO statement said Brigety had “admitted that he crossed the line and apologised unreservedly to the government and the people of South Africa.” Ramaphosa’s government has said it is investigating what occurred when the Russian ship, the Lady R, docked near Cape Town in early December.on Twitter posted late Friday, Brigety said he was grateful for the chance to speak with Pandor and “correct any misimpressions left by my public remarks.
I was grateful for the opportunity to speak with Foreign Minister Pandor this evening and correct any misimpressions left by my public remarks. In our conversation, I re-affirmed the strong partnership between our two countries & the important agenda our Presidents have given us.
The State Department did not provide an immediate response to the démarche, though Secretary of State Antony Blinken also spoke with Pandor on Friday. A department spokesperson on Thursday said the Biden administration was concerned by the ship incident. The administration has already slapped sanctions on Iran for allegedlySouth Africa, which has stressed the conflict should be resolved peacefully but declined to condemn Russia’s invasion, has long-standing ties with Moscow.
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