DIRCO Chief Says U.S. Ambassador Apologised For His Conduct But Stood By Allegations

Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor said that U.S. ambassador Reuben Brigety apologised for his conduct last week but did not retract his allegations that a sanctioned Russian cargo ship may have left a South African seaport loaded with weapons.

• Pandor said she "conveyed the displeasure of the government" during a one-to-one meeting with the diplomat. She reiterated that the government does not sell arms and all such transactions are handled by private sector defence companies, adding that if the allegations were true, someone would have committed a "serious crime."
• This comes after the African National Congress said that they were "going to meet with the U.S. ambassador to understand him quite closely in terms of the issues he has raised about the ANC because in our view, a diplomat must understand (...) the separation of party and government where there has been a diplomatic fallout."