The United States Ambassador to the United Nations has again called on countries to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) Foreign Ministers meet in Cape Town this week as a precursor to the Head of State Summit in August.
Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who also serves on the White House’s National Security Council, was responding to a question on whether South Africa, in the aftermath of allegations of weapons transfers to Moscow, represented a national security threat to the United States.
This was an exchange with the SABC’s Sherwin Bryce-Pease who also raised the issue of secondary sanctions on countries that support Russia in its war with Ukraine.
Bryce-Pease: Does the United States believe that South Africa’s close relationship with Russia, including controversial allegations of an arms transfer to Moscow last December, represents a threat to the national security interests of the United States?
Thomas-Greenfield: Look, we can’t tell South Africa how they should promote their own foreign policy, but we have been clear in all of our messaging that Russia’s unprovoked war on Ukraine needs to be condemned. And any country taking actions to support Russia, I think, goes against all of the values. It goes against all the values that we hold closely as a country, but also in the United Nations. South Africa is a member of the United Nations. The charter is being violated. And we encourage South Africa to be aware of that as they are having their BRICS discussion.
US Ambassador Linda Thomas Greenfield:
After the allegations of arms transfers to Russia, I asked @USAmbUN Linda Thomas Greenfield if South Africa’s position on Russia presented a National Security threat to the United States… this was the exchange that followed#sabcnews pic.twitter.com/pCNfA6tX1Z
— Sherwin Bryce-Pease (@sherwiebp) May 31, 2023
Anti-Homosexuality Act in Uganda
The US Ambassador to the United Nations says her government is extremely disappointed with the promulgation of the Anti-Homosexuality Act in Uganda.
US President Joe Biden earlier tasked his National Security Council to review the implications of the law with the threat of sanctions firmly on the table. Thomas-Greenfield says the actions in Uganda did not represent what the United States expected of Uganda.
“We will be looking at what we are doing in Uganda, but we want to make sure that we continue to support the LGBT community, support the humanitarian needs of ordinary Ugandans, and they not be victimized twice.”
