South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and US President Donald Trump at the WHite House. Picture: Screengrab. While it is getting uglier with both countries’ chief diplomats, Marco Rubio and Ronald Lamola, exchanging strong words, experts believe it cannot get to the stage of no return because the two nations need each other and Donald Trump would be wary of giving his opponents ammunition for future polls.
But the US president could impose targeted sanctions and a visa ban against certain ANC members and individuals who took a strong anti-Israel stand on Gaza. They include former international relations and cooperation minister Naledi Pandor, former SA ambassador to the US Ebrahim Rasool and even EFF leader Julius Malema. At the weekend, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Lamola gave his US counterpart, Rubio, a piece of his mind in response to the latter’s recent attack on SA.
“We do not seek your approval for our path. But we do seek, and we will always extend, a hand of respectful partnership,” Lamola said in his letter to Rubio. Experts believe Trump would not cut ties completely with Pretoria or ban its ministers as the Democrats would use it as fodder in future election campaigns.
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But Trump could implement targeted sanctions against certain SA officials. The experts also say there is no hope of a thaw in the relationship for some time because the dispute is not just about the rights of Afrikaners but also about Israel, which SA took to the International Court of Justice. The court found the allegations that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza to be plausible.
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