Modise must strike a balance

No doubt there will be many shrieks of outrage from different quarters about the visit to Moscow of Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Thandi Modise.

She will be attending a conference on “international security” at the invitation of the Russian ministry of defence. While there should be nothing untoward about such a visit in “normal times”, clearly – with the Russian invasion of Ukraine – these are not normal times.

While South Africa has been at pains to emphasise its “neutral” stance on the conflict, the visit by Modise will be interpreted by many, including South Africa’s main trading partners who oppose Russia in the Ukraine war, as support for Russia.

That opinion will be reinforced by the wording of a statement from her department, which spoke about SA being “ready to work with all peace-loving nations of the world, through relevant multilateral bodies, to contribute meaningfully towards lasting peace in the world.”

The clear implication is that we regard Russia as “peace loving”… On the other hand, is her visit more or less problematic than the recent “Exercise Shared Accord 2022” conducted between the SA National Defence Force and the US Africa Command? Being a truly nonaligned country is a difficult balancing act.