ANC visit evidence of strengthening SA/Russia ties, Putin’s safety

The visit by an ANC delegation to Russia should be seen in the light of the strengthening of the relationship between the ANC and the United Russian Party, its long-time ally.

This is the view of political analysts who said the ANC would not do away with its long-time friend, Russia, and sell President Vladimir Putin to the highest bidder, merely to fulfil the interest of the West.

“There is a long-standing relationship between the ANC and the Russian party,” said political analyst Professor Ntsikelelo Breakfast.

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“The Soviet Union supported the ANC with military training and gave it financial support to fight against apartheid and, therefore, there is no way it would betray Russia overnight.”

ANC strengthening ties with Russia

Another analyst, Sandile Swana, said the ANC was strengthening its ties with the Russian party and the Russian people in general. Swana said the ultimate aim of the party-to-party meeting was to fulfil a long-term objective to undo the unipolar world that favoured the West.

“While the ANC is in power it is able also to use state power. One of their objectives to work together with the Russians is to reverse the impact or consequences of the unipolar world dominated by the United States. [The ANC] see themselves as being part of the process to end the unipolar world in favour of the bipolar world,” Swana said.

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Even the tri-nation military exercise with Russia and China, hosted by South Africa, the January visit by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the upcoming Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) meeting clearly spelt out that the ANC and the government were working hand-in-hand with the Russian ruling party and Moscow.

“As long as the ANC is in power in South Africa, the relationship between South Africa and Russia will continue. Anyone who comes here with a fantasy of trying to arrest Putin will encounter a lot of difficulties because the Brics forces would have prepared for that eventuality,” Swana said.

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Breakfast said the visit by the ANC to Russia was an attempt to renew the ANC’s old relationship with the Russian party. They might have discussed the need for the Brics meeting to be held virtually until South Africa had fully withdrawn from the International Criminal Court (ICC) as it promised.

‘No way SA will arrest Putin’

“There is no way that South Africa could arrest Putin. Even at the beginning of the war in Ukraine, this country did not condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” Breakfast said.

In August, many eyes would be on South Africa to see whether it would arrest Putin, following the issuing of a warrant of arrest by the Hague-based ICC against the Russian president for alleged atrocities in Ukraine, he said.

While South Africa is member of the ICC, both Russia and US are not signatories to the Rome Statute, which obliged any member country to obey the protocol and arrest anyone on the ICC wanted list for allegedly committing war crimes and crimes against humanity.

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The US did not recognise the ICC and claimed it based its rulings on hearsay. There have been calls for South Africa to withdraw from the ICC and follow efforts by Africa to establish its own African Court of Justice.

– ericn@citizen.co.za