Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the strength of the diplomatic relationship between South Africa and Russia.

The UK is working with the UN and partners across Africa to protect the UN charter and insist on the end of Russia's illegal invasion. On 1 June the Foreign Secretary spoke with South Africa's Foreign Minister to discuss South Africa's stance on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. We understand South Africa's long-held non-alignment policy and we encourage South Africa to follow its own principles and use their available channels, including the African Peace Initiative, BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) and their G20 Presidency preparations, to urge Russia to end its unprovoked and illegal invasion and create room for diplomacy.