Senior US officials, including acting deputy secretary of state Victoria Nuland, will this week meet SA government officials in meetings likely to discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, global food security and energy issues.
Nuland’s visit to three African countries — SA, Ivory Coast and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) — comes as the government is trying to patch up strained ties with the US that have been soured by its closeness to Russia.
SA, which has adopted a nonaligned stance on Russia’s war with Ukraine, has come under pressure from the West to rethink the position behind successive diplomatic headaches for Pretoria.
US ambassador to SA Reuben Brigety has publicly accused SA of providing arms to Russia, an allegation the SA government has denied. Senior US legislators are also said to be lobbying their government to exclude SA from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) — under which a number of African countries including SA have duty-free access to the US market for many value-added products.
Nuland, who is also an under-secretary for political affairs in her country, will lead the US delegation’s participation in the US-SA working group on African and Global Issues, where matters of mutual concern to the US and SA will be discussed, according to a statement from the state department.
“This is the third year she has represented the United States at the event. The Acting Deputy Secretary will also meet with senior South African government leaders and leaders in the energy sector,” the statement said.
Nuland is likely to meet department of international relations & co-operation director-general Zane Dangor and not the department’s political head, Naledi Pandor, because “protocol does not permit a minister to meet at under-secretary. (The) minister will only meet a minister,” according to a source close to the matter.
Nuland is the third senior US official to travel to SA this year, after US secretary of state Anthony Blinken and US treasury secretary Janet Yellen, as the US tries to mend ties with SA and possibly counter Russian influence on the ANC-led government.
International relations analyst John Stremlau said that though SA has repeatedly reiterated its stance on the Russia-Ukraine war it’s expected to take centre stage during the meetings “because it is the elephant in the room”.
“There is a challenge for SA in dealing with the United States because of it historical ties with Russia, but the important part is that she [Nuland] is coming to SA, signalling that here is a sense that you can still have a working relationship [between US and SA],” Stremlau said.
Nuland’s official visit to SA this week also comes ahead of August’s Brics summit in Johannesburg. All leaders of Brics nations, except for Russia’s, are expected to attend the annual summit, which is expected to discuss how to counter Western hegemony. Russian leader Vladimir Putin will not attend physically because of an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant hanging over his head, and will send foreign minister Sergei Lavrov in his place.
EFF leader Julius Malema on Sunday called for other Brics countries to boycott the meetings in support of Russia, which has long enjoyed strong diplomatic ties with SA.
During the Russia-Africa summit last week, Putin said he wished SA a successful hosting of the summit, adding that he does not think his presence at the summit was more important than being in Russia right now.
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