The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden is trying to downplay differences with South Africa over allegations that Pretoria secretly sent arms to Russia, signaling a desire to resolve the dispute privately to avoid further damage to their relationship.
Breaking with diplomatic protocol, the US ambassador to South Africa claimed this month that weapons were placed on a sanctioned Russian vessel under cover of darkness at the Cape Town naval base in December, adding later that he would “gamble on the My life” on top.
His allegations reflect Washington’s deep dismay at South Africa’s public stance in support of Moscow. Russia has strong ties with the ruling African National Congress, which the Soviet Union supported when it was in exile during the apartheid era.
But many in the U.S. government worry that publicly condemning or punishing so-called non-aligned countries such as South Africa over their ties to Russia could bring them closer to Moscow.
Officials declined to comment publicly or privately on details of U.S. Ambassador Ruben Brigitte’s allegations, saying they would await the results of an investigation launched by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Two people familiar with the administration’s thinking said the ambassador’s public allegations complicated matters.
Russian container ship Lady R in Cape Town in December. South Africa denies it is sending weapons to Russia on sanctioned ships © Esa Alexander/Reuters
South Africa’s refusal to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine angered the Biden administration. But Washington also sees Biden and Ramaphosa on good terms and that diplomacy is the best way to manage tensions with their largest trading partner in Africa.
“Ramaphosa and the South African government have indicated that an investigation is ongoing and we look forward to the outcome,” a U.S. National Security Council official said.
Analysts say Congress may still try to press the administration to take a tougher stance. Jim Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he shares Brigitte’s concerns about South Africa’s relationship with Moscow.
“The Biden administration should use its existing powers to reassess the scope and scale of our current engagement with the South African government,” he said.
The diplomatic spat over the Russian vessel Lady R reflects the delicate path Washington must walk as it tries to persuade reluctant members of the “global south” to support the West’s position in the Ukraine war.
Since Moscow’s all-out invasion of Ukraine last year, the United States has sought to pressure traditional strategic partners to at least remain neutral and impose international sanctions as a way to deprive Vladimir Putin’s regime of the funds and weapons it seeks to wage war.
In a sign of US conciliation on the issue, Brigitte said he regretted any misunderstanding his remarks had caused South Africa.
Ramaphosa’s office said this week that Ramaphosa has identified a retired judge to lead the Lady R investigation, but has not yet named that person or finalized the terms of reference for the investigation.
His government has denied arms sales to Russia and suggested that if any transfers did occur, they were done by rogue actors. A spokesman for Ramaphosa said this week that the government has yet to see concrete evidence of the U.S. claim about the ship.
Patrick Gaspard, ambassador to South Africa from 2013 to 2016 and now president of the Center for American Progress think tank, said both sides appeared to want to de-escalate the situation.
“The U.S. and South Africa are extremely important allies, but actually what a breakdown in the relationship between the two countries means, people have started to think about its seriousness,” he said.
“There are still serious problems here, but they will be resolved at the diplomatic table,” he added.
However, deep-seated antipathy towards the United States within the ANC has openly accused Washington of instigating the war in Ukraine. The party’s ties to Russia were strengthened under former South African President Jacob Zuma, who worked closely with Moscow during his exile under apartheid.
Zuma’s government, notorious for the corruption of its state institutions, was keen to support Russia’s construction of a nuclear power plant in South Africa. The deal was canceled by a South African court order.
“There is a fair share of South African institutions that see the US as some sort of adversary,” said Michelle Gavin, Ralph Bunche, a senior fellow for African policy studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. “They felt that, in a sense, it was in South Africa’s interest to resist the interests of the United States.”
South Africa’s main opposition party and business leaders have warned that the Lady R dispute could undermine business ties with the United States that are vital to the country’s blackout-plagued economy. South Africa exported more than $15 billion worth of goods to the US in 2021 under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, the US law that grants tax exemptions to certain countries.