Russia's Lavrov Welcomed in South Africa by Foreign Minister Pandor

Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov was welcomed by his South African counterpart, Naledi Pandor, for talks in Pretoria, South Africa, on Monday, January 23.

In a joint media briefing held with Lavrov, Pandor brushed aside criticism of South Africa’s decision to allow Russia and China to carry out joint military drills off the country’s east coast in late February.

Pandor said such drills were a “natural course of relations” and a “natural set of exercises” that occur between friendly countries.

Lavrov again defended Russia’s actions in Ukraine, saying Kyiv was to blame for Russia’s attacks on civilian infrastructure in the country. Credit: DIRCO South Africa via Storyful

Video transcript

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