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ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula and US Ambassador Reuben Brigety during a meeting at Luthuli House on Wednesday.
- ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula met with US Ambassador Rueben Brigety at the ANC's headquarters on Wednesday.
- Brigety had criticised the party's anti-US stance taken at its elective conference in December.
- The ANC has insisted Brigety should apologise for his diplomatic stance.
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has held a closed-door meeting with US Ambassador Rueben Brigety at the party's headquarters after the diplomat raised concerns about the ANC's anti-US stance.
Mbalula and Brigety met at Luthuli House on Wednesday after a week of political concern about the ANC and government's support for Russia.
The party said Brigety had again apologised for his remarks in his meeting with Mbalula.
Brigety had angered ANC leaders when he held a media briefing last week in which he chastised the government's non-action on US intelligence warnings the country might have supplied weapons to Russia.
The diplomat's remarks raised the ire of many, with ANC leader Cyril Ramaphosa describing his comments as "distasteful".
Brigety had raised concerns about the ANC's elective conference resolution, which criticised the US and its involvement in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
This resolution implied the US was only interested in protecting its image as a global power.
Parts of the resolution stated:
The ongoing war in Ukraine has far-reaching strategic geopolitical and economic consequences for the people of the world.
"This can no longer be described simply as a Russia-Ukraine war - it is primarily a conflict between the US and US-led NATO and Russia in pursuit of the objectives of the so-called Wolfowitz doctrine.
"According to this doctrine, the US should not allow any country in the world, in the post-Cold War period, to challenge US interests, especially its hegemony.
"In this regard, US geopolitical strategy has identified Russia and China as the two powers that must be contained, according to the Wolfowitz doctrine, which undergirds US foreign policy."
ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said the discussion between Mbalula and Brigety was "cordial".
Bhengu-Motsiri added Brigety had apologised for saying South Africa had supplied arms to Russia.
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"The ambassador reiterated his apology as conveyed by International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor.
"The meeting was cordial, and the secretary-general reiterated the centrality of the ANC's approach to international relations.
"This is the resolution rooted in the democratic revolution and is dictated by our historical mandate contained in the Freedom Charter that there shall be peace and friendship.
"Since the formation of the ANC, our position is to contribute to a better South Africa and a better world in being human, just, equitable, and free," Bhengu-Motsiri said.
"The meeting discussed the importance of the relationship between the people of South Africa and the people of the United States of America.
"While there may be points of divergence on certain points, we remain committed to diplomatic engagements to resolve challenges on our shared interests."
Mbalula said, in a series of tweets about his meeting with Brigety, the ANC was firm that dialogue should resolve conflicts.
The government has been criticised for its increasingly questionable "non-aligned" stance on the war in Ukraine and refusal to call out Russia for its invasion.
On Tuesday, Ramaphosa said South Africa and several other African countries were planning on sending their heads of state to Russia and Ukraine to broker a peace deal between the two countries.
English (US)