South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) said United States ambassador Reuben Brigety has apologised for allegations he made against the southern African country on Thursday.
Brigety was summoned by Minister Naledi Pandor on Friday night and rebuked for his public comments that South Africa had supplied Russia with arms and ammunition to aid the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
In a statement posted on Twitter on Friday night, DIRCO spokesperson Clayson Monyela said Brigety has since apologised for the claims. He wrote:
The meeting between USA Ambassador to South Africa @ReubenBrigety and @DIRCO_ZA took place this afternoon.
We conveyed our displeasure with his conduct and he admitted that he crossed the line and apologised unreservedly.
The relations between the USA & South Africa are cordial, strong, and mutually beneficial.
We reaffirmed our commitment to continue to work together for the benefit of the people of the two countries.
There’s a commitment to use established diplomatic channels to raise whatever issue may arise in the management of the bilateral relations between the two countries.
Minister Naledi Pandor also spoke to her counterpart, Secretary @SecBlinke. As previously stated, the National Conventional Arms Control Committee has not approved any sale of arms to Russia related to the period and incident in question.
The inquiry initiated by HE President Cyril Ramaphosa will be a platform to establish facts and role players in the incident in question. Anyone found to have broken the law will face consequences.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has instituted an inquiry to be led by a retired judge to investigate the allegations raised by the American diplomat. Added Monyela:
DIRCO welcomes the decision by President Cyril Ramaphosa to appoint an independent inquiry to be chaired by a retired judge to look into the allegations made by the US ambassador to South Africa.
This process will allow for facts to be established and for role players to be identified. Anyone found to have broken the law will face severe consequences.
The South African currency, the rand crashed against the US dollar after Brigety’s allegations.
He claimed that the weapons and ammunition were loaded onto a Russian ship that docked at the Simon’s Town naval base in Cape Town in December last year.
The rand hit R19.32 against the US dollar – close to its previous record low, reached in 2020.
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