By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Russian embassy has hit back at the US ambassador to South Africa’s controversial claims on the docking of a Russian ship in Simon’s Town last year.
The embassy said Reuben Brigety’s claims came as no surprise as the “US seems to have lost its ability to interact with partners on an equal basis long ago”, adding it could not “punish” South Africa for being “non-aligned”.
Last Thursday, Brigety caused a furore when he told reporters a Russian ship that had docked at Simon’s Town naval base in December had left South Africa loaded with weapons.
The Russian embassy said the weapons allegedly sent to Russia did not match “neither the types nor the calibres of the systems currently in service with Russia’s armed forces”.
The embassy questioned the impact of a “minuscule” number of firearms and ammunition allegedly distributed by South Africa in the conflict.
It emphasized that the claims were baseless and lacked evidence. They also expressed disappointment over the unfounded assertions being made, which they believed were intended to strain diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The lengthy statement read, “[The] docking of [the] Lady R in Simons Town is being used as a pretext – totally fabricated and as false as the notorious tune presented by US State Secretary Colin Powell at the United Nations Security Council, which was followed by a full-scale invasion of Iraq,” calling out the US for “its continued double standards and hypocrisy”.
But what is more important — why does the US diplomat feel perfectly [comfortable] about the fact that his country and its satellites have been delivering weapons to Ukraine since as long ago as 2014? The total amount of Western military supplies to Kyiv regime exceeded $100bn by 2023 and a new batch for $1.2bn was approved by Washington the other day.
“Why doesn’t Brigety say a word about these arms being used to attack cities in Donbas, as well as Bryansk and Belgorod regions of Russia daily?”
Defence Minister Thandi Modise pleaded for the country to be left alone because it had not provided “f..kol”, not even “chappies” to Russia.
Modise emphasized that South Africa had not taken sides in the conflict and reaffirmed the country’s commitment to promoting peaceful resolutions to international disputes.
She encouraged dialogue and diplomacy as the means to address the ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
Washington has warned that countries providing material support to Russia may be denied access to United States markets.