US ambassador to SA has accused the South African government of delivering arms and ammunition to Russian in December.
Reuben Brigety, the US ambassador to South Africa, told the media on Thursday that the US had information that the Lady R, a Russian ship subject to sanctions that berthed at Simon’s Town Naval Dockyard outside of Cape Town in December, had been loaded with weapons and ammunition.
“Among the things we noted was the docking of the cargo ship in Simon’s Town naval base between the 6th to the 8th of December 2022, which we are confident uploaded weapons and ammunition onto that vessel in Simon’s Town as it made its way back to Russian,”
“We are confident that weapons were loaded onto that vessel, and I would bet my life on the accuracy on that assertion,” said Ambassador Reuben Brigety II
In response, The Presidency announced the creation of an independent investigation led by a retired judge to look into the claims.
Additionally, it stated that discussions regarding the vessel and an agreement to permit further investigations had taken place between South African and US officials.
“It is therefore disappointing that the US ambassador has adopted a counter-productive public position that undermines the understanding reached on the matter and the very positive and constructive engagements between the two delegations,” read the statement.
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