South Africa under more scrutiny over Russian ship as ruling ANC says it would ‘welcome’ Putin

By GERALD IMRAY
Associated Press

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — The South African government has come under growing pressure after it declined to release cargo documents relating to the visit by a Russian ship that the United States alleges collected a consignment of weapons for Moscow. Separately, a top official in South Africa’s ruling party invited added scrutiny of the country’s relationship with Russia by saying it would “welcome” a visit by President Vladimir Putin despite him being indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes. The comments by African National Congress Secretary General Fikile Mbalula regarding Putin were made in an interview with the BBC.