Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was in South Africa on Monday for talks with one of its most important allies on a continent that is divided over Russia's invasion of Ukraine and related Western attempts to isolate it.
Lavrov was scheduled to meet with Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor, in a trip some opposition parties and the small Ukrainian community have condemned as insensitive.
President Cyril Ramaphosa's government regards South Africa as neutral in the conflict and has expressed a desire to mediate. Even as South Africa has proclaimed impartiality on the conflict and abstained from voting on United Nations resolutions, it has retained close relations with Russia, historically a friend of the ANC.
The SANDF said last week the military exercise is a"means to strengthen the already flourishing relations between South Africa, Russia and China".Russian news agency TASS reported on Monday that a Russian warship armed with new-generation hypersonic cruise weapons would take part in the drills.
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