US lawmakers ask Biden Administration to punish South Africa for alleged support for Russia

By GERALD IMRAY
Associated Press

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers wants the Biden Administration to punish South Africa for what they call its support for Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. They say in a letter published Tuesday in The New York Times that they want to relocate an important trade meeting to another country. The lawmakers also said that South Africa’s “aid” for Russia, including allegedly supplying Moscow with weapons for its war in Ukraine, calls into question its eligibility to receive trade benefits from the U.S. under the African Growth and Opportunity Act. South African Foreign Ministry spokesman Clayson Monyela said Tuesday in a statement that the U.S. lawmakers’ letter was “noted.”