South Africa's non-aligned position does not favour Russia, Ramaphosa says

FILE PHOTO: South African President Cyril Ramaphosa responds to questions in parliament surrounding cash allegedly kept on his private farm, and on frequent power outages, as South Africa's struggling power utility Eskom implements regular power cuts, in Cape Town, South Africa, September 29, 2022. REUTERS/Esa Alexander

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday the country's non-aligned position did not favour Russia over other states and reiterated its call for a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Ukraine.

His comments in a weekly presidential newsletter came on the heels of U.S. allegations last week that weapons were loaded onto Russian ship Lady R from a naval base in Cape Town late last year, which sparked a diplomatic row.