The Latest Breaking News from Naledi Pandor

Senior officials from more than a dozen countries, including Saudi Arabia and Iran, were in talks on forging closer links with the BRICS bloc of major emerging economies on Friday as it met to deepen ties and position itself as a counterweight to the West.

The BRICS Summit of heads of state will be held in Johannesburg in August, Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said on Thursday, after speculation that it could be held elsewhere.

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.

US ambassador to South Africa says he is confident a Russian ship under US sanctions loaded weapons destined for Putin's forces in Ukraine.

By Carien du Plessis

Russia has stepped up attempts to break through Ukraine's defences with heavy fighting in the east of the country, underlining Kyiv's need of more Western weapons, Ukrainian officials said on Friday. Read FRANCE 24's liveblog below to see how the day's events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).

South Africa and its neighbours were at the centre of a tussle for influence this week when top Russian and U.S. officials visited, offering a rare moment of leverage for governments on a continent more used to being buffeted by events than wooed.

Pretoria has refused to condemn Moscow’s invasion but continues to call for dialogue.

Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov's made the remarks on a visit to South Africa as the Russian government continues to escalate its rhetoric with fighting intensifying in Ukraine