South Africa Investigates Accusations of Arms Shipment to Russia by US Ambassador

South African officials denied accusations made by the US that a Russian ship had picked up weapons from a naval base near Cape Town in December 2021. The US ambassador to South Africa said he was confident that the ship had uploaded weapons from the Simon's Town naval base, which could lead to Washington imposing sanctions. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa's office said an inquiry led by a retired judge would look into the allegation. South Africa is one of Russia's most important allies on a continent divided over its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, but says it is impartial on the conflict and has abstained from voting on U.N. resolutions on the war.