The plane then took off from Luanda, Angola, and landed at South Africa’s Waterkloof Air Force Base on April 24, the Defense Department stated. (That day, flight information present an undisclosed cease, believed to be in South Africa.) The aircraft flew on to Harare, Zimbabwe, the following day.
The Russian Embassy had made a proper request to South Africa’s Foreign Ministry to let the aircraft land on the base, the place diplomatic plane are allowed to journey, the Defense Department assertion stated. The assertion didn’t specify what was within the diplomatic mail.
It will not be uncommon for international locations to ship diplomatic correspondence by plane, however such deliveries are open to abuse, stated Kobus Marais, a member of South Africa’s important opposition celebration, the Democratic Alliance. Mr. Marais questioned why the aircraft didn’t use a business airport close by, which is extra typical for offloading diplomatic baggage, he stated.
Diplomatic mail might be as small as just a few envelopes or as a big as a container, however a protection analyst, Helmoed Heitman, stated it was uncommon for Russia to make use of a cargo plane to ship packages to its embassy.
The flight plan and touchdown had been more than likely influenced by Western sanctions, stated Mr. Heitman. “They might have had a suspicion that if they land at a commercial airport, they might get arrested,” he stated.
The aircraft is owned Aviacon Zitotrans, a Russian firm, and it was one of many plane from the corporate hit by sanctions by the U.S. Treasury Department in January as a part of sweeping measures in opposition to Russian entities, together with Russia’s Wagner personal mercenary firm. Aviacon didn’t instantly reply to an e mail searching for remark.
The firm has shipped army gear world wide, together with warheads and rockets, the Treasury Department stated. The United States has additionally accused Aviacon of making an attempt to make use of Turkish diplomats and a Turkish firm to promote protection gear on behalf of a Russian state-owned protection agency, Rosoboroneksport OAO.
Source: www.nytimes.com