Despite claiming to be impartial in the conflict in Ukraine, the US ambassador to South Africa has accused the nation of providing arms to Russia.
According to Reuben Brigety, a Russian ship carrying weapons and ammunition docked in Cape Town in December.
The office of President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed disappointment at the allegations and stated that no proof had been shown to back them up.
Claims of neutrality in the invasion of Ukraine have been upheld by the nation.
At a media event on Thursday in Pretoria, Mr. Brigety claimed that Washington has reservations about the nation's publicly stated non-alignment stance on the issue.
He made reference to the "confident" docking of a cargo ship at the Simon's Town naval facility between December 6 and December 8 of last year.
Weapons and ammo were posted "as it made its way back to Russia."
At the time, Lady R's presence seemed odd, and several local politicians had expressed concerns.
Mr. Brigety made the devastating claim that "the arming of the Russians is extremely serious, and we do not consider this issue to be resolved," apparently catching South Africa's leaders off guard.
Following the accusations, the South African government announced the creation of an impartial investigation headed by a retired judge, according to a spokeswoman for the president's office.
The persistent warm connection between South Africa and Russia has drawn criticism from the US for months.
Vedant Patel, a deputy spokesperson for the State Department, told journalists on Thursday that the US had earlier expressed worries about Lady R to a number of South African officials.
He said that the US would condemn "any country taking measures to support Russia's illegal and brutal war in Ukraine," but he did not specify whether South Africa would face any consequences if the allegations were proven to be accurate.
Additionally, South Africa's involvement in military drills with Russia and China on the anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine has raised worries in Washington.
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