The Department of International Relations (Dirco) said there were no impending sanctions against South Africa.
Dirco spokesperson Clayson Monyela on Wednesday said there were no intentions to restrict economic activity between SA and the West following the docking of the Russian cargo ship, Lady R in Simon's Town, in the Western Cape in December last year.
“There is no threat of sanctions against SA,” Monyela told delegates and the media at an African National Congress (ANC) debate on the Russia-Ukraine conflict held in Johannesburg.
According to Monyela, to date, no evidence has been produced in the public domain over allegations by the US Embassy in South Africa that Lady R was carrying weapons supplied by South Africa to Russia.
He said the South African government had also consulted with its intelligence structure over the allegations and that the assurance given to Dirco and the Presidency was that no weapons were aboard the vessel.
The docking of Lady R on South African shores resulted in a public outcry with US Ambassador to SA Reuben Brigety revealing at a press conference that SA had allegedly supplied arms to Russia.
Dirco later said Brigety had apologised "unreservedly" after admitting that he had crossed the line in the comments made over Lady R at the press conference.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has given an independent panel six weeks to probe the allegations around Lady R.
The three-member panel was announced in May and comprise of former Supreme Court Judge Phineas Mojapelo as the chairperson as well as Advocate Leah Gcabashe and Enver Surty.
Monyela indicated that the work of the panel was on track.
Meanwhile, during the debate, Russian Ambassador to South Africa Ilya Igorevich Rogachev told those present that Russia's aggression on Ukraine was borne out of necessity following the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) as well as the training of Ukrainian troops and the provision of military machinery and equipment to Kyiv.
"If you look at the situation from a geopolitical perspective, it [the conflict] is not between Moscow and Kyiv. It is between us and the collective West," he said.
According to ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, the ruling party-led government was clear of its stance on the Ukraine-Russia war, adding theirs was a position of non-alignment.
Mbalula maintained that South Africa was not neutral and that it had taken a firm stance of being against the conflict while ANC NEC member and member of the ANC International Relations Committee Lindiwe Zulu emphasised that SA's position so far was to ensure that it was trusted by both Russia and Ukraine to negotiate for peace without taking any sides.
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