South Africa Military Delegation in Russia for Talks, Tass Says

A South African army delegation is visiting Russia for talks on enhancing military cooperation between the two nations and improving their combat readiness, the state-run Tass news service reported Monday, citing the Russian Defense Ministry.

(Bloomberg) — A South African army delegation is visiting Russia for talks on enhancing military cooperation between the two nations and improving their combat readiness, the state-run Tass news service reported Monday, citing the Russian Defense Ministry.

Oleg Salyukov, the commander-in-chief of Russia’s ground forces, and South African army chief Lawrence Mbatha concluded agreements on the need for greater cooperation between their militaries, Tass said. The South African delegation will also visit Russia’s military educational institutions and defense industry enterprises, it said.

News of the visit comes at an awkward time for South Africa, which has adopted a neutral stance over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has been trying to defuse a row with the US over allegations that it supplied weapons to Moscow. Pretoria has denied any knowledge of the armament shipments, but has appointed an independent judge to investigate the matter.

South Africa’s Presidency and Ministry of Defense didn’t respond to calls and text messages seeking comment.

Read more: South Africa, US Look to Ease Strain After Russia Weapons Dustup

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com