South Africa's president said Sunday that an independent panel has found that there is no evidence that a Russian ship gathered weapons in South Africa for Russia.
Reuben Brigety, the U.S. ambassador to South Africa, alleged in May that a Russian ship had docked at Simon's Town Naval Base near Cape Town to receive a shipment of weapons that would be transported to Russia.
"None of the allegations made about the supply of weapons to Russia have been proven to be true," President Cyril Ramaphosa said Sunday. "No permit was issued for the export of arms and no arms were exported."
The allegations raised issues concerning South Africa's neutrality about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and could have exposed the African nation to the possibility of Western sanctions.
The South African leader said the allegations "tarnished" the country’s image.
