PRETORIA (Reuters) – South Africa’s foreign minister on Monday sidestepped criticism of planned joint military exercises with Russia and China, saying hosting such exercises with “friends” was the “natural course of relations”.
Naledi Pandor made her remarks during a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who was visiting South Africa 11 months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
South Africa is one of Russia’s most important allies on a continent divided over invasion and Western attempts to isolate Moscow over its military actions.
Some opposition parties and the small Ukrainian community in South Africa said hosting Lavrov was insensitive.
South Africa says it is neutral on the conflict in Ukraine and has abstained from voting on UN resolutions on the war.
It has close ties with Moscow, a friend of the ruling African National Congress when the liberation movement opposed white minority rule, and will host a joint exercise with Russia and China on its east coast from February 17-27.
“All countries are conducting military exercises with friends all over the world. It is the natural course of relations,” Pandor, alongside Lavrov, told reporters in the capital, Pretoria.
The exercises will take place on February 24, the first anniversary of what Russia calls its “special military operation”. Ukraine and its allies say Russia has staged an imperial takeover of its territory.
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government has expressed its desire to mediate the Ukrainian conflict as a neutral party.
“As South Africa, we constantly declare that we will always stand ready to support the peaceful resolution of conflicts on the (African) continent and around the world,” Pandor said in previous statements.
neutrality
South Africa has little trade with Russia but supports a world view – favored by China and Russia – that seeks to undo perceived American hegemony in favor of a “multipolar” world in which geopolitical power is more diffused.
Lavrov said that the military exercises were transparent and that Russia, China and South Africa provided all relevant information.
Pandor said South Africa would not be drawn into sides, and criticized the West for condemning Russia and ignoring issues such as Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands.
South Africa’s armed forces said last week that the exercise was “a way to strengthen the already thriving relations between South Africa, Russia and China”.
Russia’s Tass news agency reported on Monday that a Russian warship armed with new-generation hypersonic cruise weapons will take part in the exercise.
Lavrov was visiting the country six months before the Russian-African summit in July. There was no official comment from the Ukrainian embassy, but officials said it had asked the South African government to help advance a Ukrainian peace plan.
(Cover) Written by Karen Du Plessis, Annette Meridzanian, Alexander Winning and Estelle Charbon, Writing by Tim Cox, Editing by Timothy Heritage
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