Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his American counterparts on recent reports of deepening (a) defence and (b) economic ties between South Africa and Russia.

We are committed to working with international partners to mitigate the impact of Russia's actions globally. The UK regularly engages with international counterparts, including the US and South Africa, across a range of defence and economic interests in the region. Most recently, the Foreign Secretary met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on 17 January to discuss how we can best support Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. The Minister for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell also discussed a range of issues, including the Ukraine conflict, with South African Deputy Foreign Minister Botes on 19 January. Our High Commission in Pretoria regularly engages South African counterparts on Russia-related matters, and keeps in close touch with US colleagues.