RE: How Putin has given South Africa a big diplomatic headache17 Jun 2023 13:03
It has been an uncomfortable few months for South African diplomacy.
A country that would like to be seen as a wise and steady ambassador for a negotiated peace in Ukraine, and a crusading champion of a non-aligned, multi-polar world, has been caught up in a string of very public international squabbles that have left its government looking muddled and indecisive, and its currency sinking to new lows.
At issue is South Africa's warm relationship with Russia - and a growing Western perception that the country has decided to back Moscow in its war against Ukraine, and perhaps even to send it weapons.
But is that perception fair? And what could it all mean for South Africa's reputation and its increasingly fragile economy?
"It's a nightmare," admitted one senior South African official. They were speaking off-the-record in Cape Town this week, on the sidelines of a meeting of foreign ministers of the Brics group, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
Western diplomats have privately expressed deep frustration about South Africa's stance towards Russia and its shaky attempts to live up to its self-declared "impartiality" in relation to the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine.
"The government's heart is with the Russians. There's no doubt about it. They believe the world is slipping out of Western hands - that the Russians are stronger and will win, and that they're investing in a strategic future, a new world order," said Irina Filatova, a Russian academic based in Cape Town.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-65787544
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