South Africa’s divisions over Russia policy expose racial fault lines
In this edition, South African political divisions over the war are inflaming racial divisions.
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THE STORY
Since the war in Ukraine began, South Africa has, in no particular order, hosted Russian naval vessels for joint military exercises, warmly welcomed Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to Pretoria, invited Vladimir Putin to an upcoming BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) conference in August — despite an International Criminal Court arrest warrant that would in theory have obligated South Africa, a party to the ICC, to detain the Russian president — and helped to transport weapons to Russia.
As Russia looks to charm Africa and form an alternative base of international support to compensate for being shunned by the West, the continent’s most developed economy, South Africa, has been a key ally.