A military mission with "great resources" from the Air Force of the Russian Federation is visiting South Africa until Friday, the spokesperson for the National Defense Force (SANDF) told Lusa today.
"It is a goodwill visit to South Africa with Air Force-to-Air Force commitments, in line with the military relations we have with the Russian Defense Force, as we have with other countries," Siphiwe Dlamini told Lusa.
According to the South African military spokesman, the presence of the Russian Air Force at the Waterkloof military base in Pretoria includes "major air assets", including the Ilyushin IL-62 and the Antonov AN-124, as part of the "demonstration of defense cooperation, and strengthening military relations" between the two countries.
The military spokesman explained that Russian military aircraft arrived in South Africa on Tuesday, and the arrival of Tupolev Tu-160 'Blackjack' strategic bombers in the South African capital was also planned, which has since been postponed, he said.
"This friendly visit aims to reaffirm the diplomatic ties maintained by the military organizations of both countries and comes on the basis of the strong historical ties existing between the two countries dating back to February 28, 1992, following which the Ministries of Defense of both countries drafted an agreement on 14 June 1995 under which the joint unit of the Aerospace Forces of the Russian Federation would periodically visit the Republic of South Africa (RSA)," according to the SANDF.
The visit comes after the recent Summit of the BRICS group of countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) in Russia, which was attended by the president of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa.
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