Cape Town – The US Embassy in South Africa has acknowledged the seriousness of the investigation into the docking of a Russian cargo vessel, Lady R, at Simons Town harbour in December.
The US Ambassador, Reuben Brigety, had previously claimed in May that South Africa supplied arms to Russia, which were allegedly loaded onto the vessel.
However, the embassy has refrained from commenting on the findings of the investigation.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a televised address on Sunday that while ammunition was offloaded from the Lady R vessel, no arms were loaded back onto it before its departure.
The United States (US) Embassy in South Africa said it appreciated the seriousness with which government approached an investigation into the docking of a Russian cargo vessel, Lady R, at Simons Town harbour in December. pic.twitter.com/lmCWyJl15A
— AfricanTimes2005 (@African_TimesSA) September 4, 2023
Brigety’s earlier claims had caused a diplomatic controversy and threatened South Africa’s preferential trade ties with the US.
Minister of International Relations Naledi Pandor had summoned Brigety to explain himself, and there were calls for his recall.
The US mission spokesperson, David Feldmann, said that they would respect the conclusions of the investigation panel and confirmed that the US government had shared certain information related to the Lady R vessel with the panel, EWN reported.
The embassy expressed appreciation for Ramaphosa’s commitment to the investigation and looked forward to collaborating with South Africa on shared priorities, such as trade, health, and climate.
Reaction from U.S. Embassy Spokesperson in Pretoria, David S. Feldmann to findings of Lady R investigative report announced by President Ramaphosa on Sunday#sabcnews pic.twitter.com/86IQ8umHFN
— Sherwin Bryce-Pease (@sherwiebp) September 4, 2023
However, as of Monday, the promised executive summary of the investigative report had not been released.
According to eNCA, the president said revealing the details of the equipment offloaded would compromise important military operations and put soldiers’ lives at risk.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
