US Attempts to ‘Bring South Africa to Its Knees’ Will Backfire, Pretoria Says

ANC government warns Washington against punishing it for having good relations with totalitarian regimes, saying the U.S. needs South Africa’s minerals.

South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor addresses the 76th session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City on Sept. 22, 2021. Eduardo Munoz/Getty Images

JOHANNESBURG—The government of South Africa has thrown down the gauntlet to its U.S. counterpart, saying that U.S. repercussions against it for supporting totalitarian regimes could “amount to self-sabotage.”

In an opinion article published in the UK’s Financial Times newspaper recently, South Africa’s minister of international relations, Naledi Pandor, wrote: “Seeking to bring South Africa to its knees almost amounts to self-sabotage for the United States.