Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the consequences for his policies of the South African government's decision to undertake naval exercises with Russian and Chinese forces.

The UK is aware of reports that in February 2023, South Africa will undertake a joint naval exercise with China and Russia. As part of delivering and shaping the UK Government's response to the Ukraine conflict the UK regularly engages South African counterparts on Russia-related matters. On 19 January, I [Minister Mitchell] raised Russia's illegal actions in Ukraine with South African Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Botes. We are committed to working with international partners to mitigate the impact of Russia's actions.