South Africa wants direct talks with Washington to break a deadlock in strained diplomatic ties, the ambassador told AFP on Monday, as Pretoria tries to avoid losing access to a key US-Africa trade deal.
Relations between the two countries have worsened since President Donald Trump took office, with Washington cutting aid and criticising President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office over discredited claims of a “white genocide”.
Stalemate in relations
The “situation is tense and there’s a bit of a stalemate”, ambassador Roelf Meyer (79) told AFP on the sidelines of an event to launch his memoir.
“My view is that it can be addressed if there is direct dialogue between the US and South African authorities, and we hope we can establish that,” he said.
Meyer, a chief negotiator for South Africa’s white nationalist government in talks that led to the end of apartheid, became ambassador in April, nearly a year after Washington expelled the previous envoy.
AGOA trade deal at risk
South Africa faces possible removal from Washington’s duty-free trade programme for Africa, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which runs until December 2028 and faces annual reviews.
Meyer said he hoped talks on the deal could bring “the right facts across in the process before decisions are being taken”.
Washington announced visa restrictions in mid-September for South Africans who promote “race-based discrimination, incite violence, or enable land confiscation without compensation”.
Last year, the United States launched a programme to resettle white Afrikaners who claim they face persecution in South Africa, which the government rejects.
Sovereignty and respect
“We have to be able to sit down and put the facts on the table,” said Meyer.
“South Africa is a sovereign country, like the US is, and we have to respect from each side that situation.”
The standoff led to Washington refusing to accredit Pretoria for G20 meetings in the United States, including the December summit.
Asked about calls from countries like Germany for South Africa to be included, Meyer told the event that Pretoria had “moved on”.
South African representatives will take part in the business arm of the G20, called the B20, in November in Washington, he said.
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