Lieutenant General Lawrence Mbatha, the commander of South Africa’s army ground forces, has embarked on an official visit to Moscow to discuss enhancing combat readiness, Russian news agencies reported on Monday
What is SA army commander doing in Moscow?
As reported by Russia’s state-run TASS news agency, Lt. Gen. Mbatha held talks with his Kremlin counterpart, Colonel General Oleg Salyukov, about military cooperation and collaborative initiatives aimed at bolstering the preparedness of the armed forces in both countries.
Russia’s defence ministry added that the South African delegation is scheduled to visit training sites of the Russian ground forces as well as defence industry enterprises, offering opportunities for knowledge exchange and exploration of potential partnerships.
According to TASS, Mbatha led a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the Alexander Garden, on Monday, ahead of bilateral negotiations at the High Command.
“Issues of military cooperation and interaction aimed at implementing projects aimed at increasing the combat readiness of the armed forces of both countries were discussed.
“During the meeting of the military leaders, agreements were reached to further increase cooperation between the Ground Forces in various fields,” Russia’s defence ministry claimed.
This visit comes shortly after United States Ambassador Reuben Brigety accused South Africa of clandestinely supplying arms to Russia, an allegation President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government vehemently denied.
According to DIRCO head of diplomacy Clayson Monyela, Brigety has since retracted his claims and unreservedly apologised.
“We reaffirmed the commitment to contiue working to enhance the existing cordial, strong and mutually beneficial relations between the two countries,” Monyela tweeted.
Will South Africa arrest Putin later this year?
In the midst of the furore around Russia’s recent relations with South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa is under intense scrutiny over his actions later this year when the 15th BRICS Summit kicks off in Durban, KZN, in August 2023.
in April 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and his children’s rights commissioner Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova for their alleged involvement in the unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children.
Russian media reports claim Ramaphosa held a phone conversation with Putin, where both leaders expressed their commitment to deepening mutually beneficial ties across various fields.
It’s said President Ramaphosa also emphasised South Africa’s neutrality in the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Despite these diplomatic efforts, however, local media in South Africa has cited government sources suggesting that, in the event of President Putin attending the BRICS summit in August 2023, Pretoria would be compelled to arrest him, albeit a formal statement has yet to come from the Presidency.