S. Africa Denies Selling Arms To Russia, Summons U.S. Ambassador

South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) announced that it has summoned U.S. ambassador Reuben Brigety and will take steps to reprimand him for giving an interview in which he accused the sub-Saharan country of supplying weapons to Russia.

• A spokesperson for South Africa's de facto foreign ministry said that the "DIRCO will today démarche the USA Ambassador to South Africa following his remarks yesterday. We'll issue a detailed statement after the meeting."
• Chief diplomat Naledi Pandor will speak with her U.S. counterpart Anthony Blinken this afternoon on the decision to reprimand Brigety for choosing to express his country's concerns publicly rather than via diplomatic channels.
• The DIRCO added that "the National Conventional Arms Control Committee has no record of an approved arms sale by the state to Russia related to the period/incident in question."
• This comes after Communications Minister Mondli Gungubele, who also chairs the National Conventional Arms Control Committee, told radio station 702 that South Africa "didn't approve any arms to Russia" and any shipment would have been illegal.