South African Army Commander visits Moscow

The commander of the South African army's ground forces is on an official visit to Moscow, Russian news agencies reported on Monday, after US accusations blaming Pretoria for arms deliveries to Russia.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, quoted by TASS and Interfax, Lt. Gen. Lawrence Mbatha and his delegation discussed with their Russian colleagues "issues of military cooperation" aimed at "increasing the combat readiness of the armed forces of both countries."

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At the meeting of military leaders, agreements were reached on strengthening cooperation between land forces in various fields," the source added. "During the visit, the delegation will visit military educational institutions of the Russian land forces and enterprises of the military-industrial complex," the ministry said.

Enhancing cooperation

The visit comes amid tensions between South Africa and the United States, which accuses Pretoria of having delivered weapons to Russia, a country that has been waging a military offensive against Ukraine for more than a year. After these accusations, which were made by the US ambassador in Pretoria, the South African government promised to investigate the alleged deliveries.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa spoke on the phone last week, showing their willingness to "accentuate" cooperation between their two countries.