The Department of Defence and its entities say that they have noted and welcomed the decision by the Presidency to institute an enquiry into the docking of the Russian ship Lady R in Simon’s Town in December 2022.
“The enquiry will offer the department an opportunity to ventilate its side of the story with concrete evidence and deal with allegations surrounding the purpose of such a visit in front of a competent officer of the law instead of hearsay or speculation,” read a department statement.
Meanwhile, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has issued a statement on the weapons debacle.
In the statement, the EFF told US Ambassador Reuben E Brigety to ‘Shut up’ on all sovereign decisions and relationships South Africa engages in.
“South Africa is not a colonial outpost and will never be. South Africa will not be under imperialist control by the US, and the sooner this sitting Ambassador leaves, the better,” read the statement
The party said that they were also worried that the Ambassador called a media conference to speak about issues that could have been handled through normal diplomatic channels.
The statement further highlighted that the United States has no right to tell South Africa what must happen to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“If there are people who must be arrested and appear before the International Criminal Court, it is US former President George Bush for the illegal war in Iraq and Barack Obama for the senseless assassination of Brother Leader Muammar Gaddafi.
‘’There is no one that is going to arrest President Putin in South Africa, and there is no imperialist nation that will instruct South Africa to do so,” added the statement.
The party said the United States had not added any developmental value to many African economies.
“The South African government must never be intimidated by a reckless Ambassador who lacks the necessary diplomatic courtesy and discipline to handle issues in a decent and diplomatic manner,” said the statement.