PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa said he sent a South African delegation to the United States of America to address the allegation recently made by USA ambassador to the SA, Rueben Brigety.
The ambassador recently said that a Russian ship was loaded with ammunition and weapons in Mzansi.
Ramaphosa said the delegation is led by his national security adviser, Sydney Mufamadi.
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The president was speaking during his visit to KZN accompanied by members of the National Working Committee (NWC) to engage the eThekwini region at the Durban Playhouse on Saturday, 13 May.
Ramaphosa said that the United States is still one of Mzansi's largest trading partners and the country cannot simply be ignored.
"There is a partner to deal with seriously. They are the largest economy in the world, and we trade with them," he said.
Ramaphosa said the US is also a political player in the world.
“So, with the number of things that had happened, we felt duty bound to send people to the United States to go and clarify certain things.
“For instance, United States needed a greater clarification on our side in relation to the Russia and Ukraine conflict," he said.
Ramaphosa said Mzansi still stands by its decision to abstain and insists that Russia and Ukraine should end their conflict through negotiations.
He said that the allegations that there was a chip with weapons from South Africa to Russia will be investigated by a retired judge through an inquiry he's setting up.
The president said on Friday, 12 May he spoke to Russian and Ukraine leaders on the phone, urging them that their conflict should be ended through negotiations.
Meanwhile, it is alleged that Ramaphosa and the NWC members were in KZN to dissolve the KZN provincial executive committee because the party had lost the by-election.
KZN ANC chairman Siboniso Duma told Daily Sun that the allegation was untrue, adding that the party in the province was still doing well.
