South Africa is free to choose its friends – but so is the United States

South Africa’s government summoned US Ambassador Reuben Brigety after he publicly accused Pretoria of supplying weapons to Russia, while its foreign minister intends to raise the matter with her American counterpart.

A diplomatic demarche will be issued to Brigety, and International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor will discuss the allegations with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday afternoon, Pandor’s spokesman, Clayson Monyela, said on Twitter.

#SouthAfrica🇿🇦 values the relations we have with the United States of America. They’re cordial, strong, and mutually beneficial.
1. DIRCO will today demarche the USA Ambassador to South Africa following his remarks yesterday. We’ll issue a detailed statement after the meeting.…

— Clayson Monyela (@ClaysonMonyela) May 12, 2023

On Thursday, Brigety told journalists that armaments were collected by a Russian cargo ship, the Lady R, from the Simon’s Town naval base in Cape Town in December. South Africa’s presidency said the comments were “disappointing” and no evidence had been produced to back up the claim, but agreed to institute an independent investigation.

The row caused the rand to slump to its weakest level on record against the dollar and yields on government bond to soar on Friday, amid investor concern that any escalation in the diplomatic row may put trade worth billions of dollars at risk.

Relations between South Africa and the US have soured over Pretoria’s insistence that it’s taken a non-aligned stance toward Russia’s war in Ukraine, and any reprimand to the ambassador would up the ante.

“The latest remarks from Brigety indicates that diplomatic efforts to deescalate tensions around South Africa’s ties with Russia have failed,” risk advisers Eurasia Group said in a note to clients.

“Yet despite violating US restrictions on arming Russia and dealing with a sanctioned Russia vessel, sanctions against South Africa are unlikely in the short term, though additional violations could change this outlook.”

South African Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni told local broadcaster Newzroom Afrika that Brigety’s actions didn’t amount to a diplomatic altercation.

“The undiplomatic conduct of the US ambassador should not create the impression that there is a fallout,” she said. “He chooses to play in a manner that is unbecoming, to the detriment of the US.”

‘No Record’

Under South African law, all weapons exports must be reported to the National Conventional Arms Control Committee. The sale of arms to, “countries involved in the systematic violation or suppression of humanitarian rights and fundamental freedoms” is prohibited, and should be avoided with countries involved in armed conflict.

“The National Conventional Arms Control Committee has no record of an approved arms sale by the state to Russia related to the period/incident in question,” Monyela said. “We therefore welcome the inquiry established by His Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa to establish the facts and role players. If any crimes were committed, the law will take its course.”

The judicial inquiry ordered by Ramaphosa will also consider whether South Africa’s defense department was “misled by officials” about the contents of the Russian vessel, Ntshavheni said.

European diplomats contacted by Bloomberg said that while they weren’t given warning of Brigety’s comments, they came as no surprise as the shipment has been the subject of unanswered queries made by diplomats to the South African government for months.

The US ambassador’s comments were almost certainly sanctioned by Washington DC, they said, and while they don’t expect South Africa to face immediate economic consequences — at least from the European Union — the furor serves as a shot across the bows to remind South Africa that its decisions have consequences, they said.

The diplomats noted that South Africa’s ruling party has frequently provoked the US in recent months, and that while Pretoria has the right to choose its allies, so does America. They asked not to be identified as their countries haven’t commented publicly on the dispute.

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South Africa is free to choose its friends – but so is the United States