South African Defence Minister, Modise: ‘We did not send fokol to Russia, not even a piece of Chappies’

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South Africa’s defence minister, Thandi Modise, has strongly criticised the narrative that the country has chosen a side in the Russia-Ukraine war. 

Modise told the Mail & Guardian that South Africa had not loaded weapons on the Russian vessel, Lady R, as stated by the US ambassador to South Africa, Reuben Brigety. 

“I’m tired because every time we have to be told about the US. Everybody now sees the spook called South Africa. I can tell you that categorically, we did not send fokol, not even a piece of Chappies [bubblegum] to Russia. We should be left alone,” she said.

Modise spoke just hoursafter Russian news agency TASS reported that South Africa’s army chief, Lieutenant General Lawrence Mbatha, met his Russian counterpart, Oleg Salyukov, and discussed agreements on further enhancing cooperation and increasing the combat readiness of the armed forces of both countries.

During the meeting, agreements were reportedly reached to increase cooperation between the countries’ ground forces in various fields.

In the brief interview with the M&G, Modise said she was frustrated by the “anti-Russian phobia” in South Africa. 

“Militaries have relationships. Not long ago, the Russians were here. They had an exercise. In the next two years one of these two countries will be hosting an exercise. The planning is two, three years ahead of time. That is besides that there will be other issues which bind the two nations together,” she said.

Modise said the government did not understand why every time, normal business between two countries and two defence forces took place, South Africa should be told that the “US is threatening us to run away”.

The defence minister, who came under heavy criticism when she attended Moscow’s conference on international security last year, said she expected the same outrage when she attends it again this year.

Modise was forced to defend last year’s trip to Moscow in parliament when she was questioned by the Democratic Alliance’s representative for defence, Kobus Marais. She told the house that the acceptance of the invitation was a crucial step towards articulating South Africa’s position on the need to maintain international peace and security.

“When that conference comes again, you will be calling me asking the same question,” she told the M&G on Tuesday.

“South Africa is right in the middle of trying to find resolutions for this war. I don’t know how many times we must say that we stand for peace, we stand for negotiations and reconciliation,” Modise said, adding that this did not mean the South African military could not be briefed by its Russian counterparts. 

In a statement, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) said the bilateral meeting was planned well in advance.

“The chief of the SA army received an invitation from his Russian counterpart for a goodwill visit [which] includes a call to the higher combined Army Academy and the Artillery Military Academy,” SANDF said.

“During this visit, the chief of the SA army will also have staff talks with military officials. It must be noted that South Africa has military-to-military bilateral relations with various countries in the continent and beyond. The SANDF receives numerous military delegations into the country and sends its own delegation to other countries to discuss matters of mutual interest.”

News of the army’s visit to Russia has presented President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government with another public relations nightmare as it grapples with the fallout from Brigety’s explosive statements last week. 

The US envoy placed doubt on South Africa’s non-aligned stance in the Russia-Ukraine war when he vowed on his life that the Americans were aware that South Africa had sold arms to the Russians in December 2022.

South Africa fired back with International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor summoning the ambassador. Although Pandor’s office insisted that Brigerty had apologised, the ambassador was vague in his own statement.

Pandor and Ramaphosa had to quickly put out fires with their US, Russian and Ukraine counterparts. 

Mathew Miller, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s spokesperson, said in a call with Pandor that he underscored the importance of the US-South Africa strategic partnership and reiterated cooperation on shared priorities, including health, trade and energy.

Many of the ruling ANC’s leaders have viewed the move by the US as a ploy to strong-arm South Africa into choosing a side in Russia’s war on Ukraine. 

The West is also said to be putting pressure on South Africa to enforce an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Russia’s President Vladamir Putin, who is expected to lead a delegation of government and business leaders to the Brics summit in Durban in August. 

The arrest warrant has created a crisis in South Africa because the country is a signatory of the Rome Statute and would be legally obligated to arrest Putin. 

The M&G recently reported that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavro, had allegedly rejected a proposal made by Pandor for Putin to virtually attend the summit.

Insiders closely linked to the negotiations said Pandor made the suggestion shortly before Ramaphosa appointed an inter-ministerial committee headed by his deputy, Paul Mashatile, to look into options on how to navigate the ICC arrest warrant. 

Lavrov is due to visit South Africa next month and the host country is expected to present a list of options for Putin’s participation at the summit with fellow Brics members Brazil, India and China.