For Putin, time is fast running out.

In my blog entry (3 April 2016) I wrote that,

"Meanwhile, one of Putin's closest allies in Africa, President Zuma of South Africa, who signed a controversial and secretive deal with Putin  for Russia's Rosatom to build nuclear reactors in South Africa, has been found guilty of breaking the South African constitution to embelish his private estate at Nkandla to the tune of £13 million stolen from state coffers. This theft elicited from him a public apology but, like Putin the 'kleptocrat', he simply ignored demands for his resignation. (cf. also https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBucRobI4rM)" (blog entry : 3 April 2016)

Fast forward to 2023 and, as reported by Cecilia Macaulay & Pumza Fihlani (right),

"South Africa has defended its decision to hold a joint military exercise with Russia and China next month.

Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor condemned the "double-standard" which says some countries can perform such exercises but others are not.

"All countries conduct military exercises with friends worldwide," Dr Pandor added.

The comments came at a press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Pretoria." (BBC News : 23 January 2023) (my emphasis)

What is rather disconcerting is that,

"Both parties described the other as a friend, with Naledi Pandor describing their talks as "wonderful" " (ibid Cecilia Macaulay & Pumza Fihlani) 

Africa News : 23 February 2023 : YouTube

Cecilia Macaulay & Pumza Fihlani further report that, unlike South Africa,

"Many African nations - including Nigeria and Kenya, the economic powerhouses of West and East Africa respectively - voted in favour of a UN general assembly resolution in March last year, condemning Russian "aggression" and demanding its withdrawal from Ukraine." (ibid Cecilia Macaulay & Pumza Fihlani)

What is rather interesting to note is that, as reported by Luke McGee (left),

" It is often said in diplomatic circles that Germany’s 21st century model for success has been built on three pillars: cheap Chinese labor, cheap Russian energy, and American guarantees of security.
...
One German official told CNN that it will be hard for mainstream (German) politicians to break free from old habits: “They have an inherent skepticism against siding overtly with the USA and a subtle hope that the relationship with Russia can be fixed.” (CNN : 21 January 2023) (my emphasis)

Thus the reluctance of Scholtz to give the green light to supplying Ukraine with Leopard tanks, whether from Germany or those EU countries which at 'biting at the chomp' to supply Ukraine with their Leopard tanks.

DW News : 23 January 2023 : YouTube

Both Germany's Scholtz and the South Africa Foreign Minister, Naledi Pandor (right), seem to be somewhat beholden to Putin, feeling that they have a duty to Putin because of what Russia has done for them. 

Paul Withers : Express : 23 January 2023 ; "Germany 'terrified of upsetting Putin' "

In the case of Germany, all that cheap oil and gas, and the German preferred investment opportunities in Russia; and in the case of Naledi Pandor, the misguided belief that Putin, rather that the former USSR, helped the ANC in its struggle against 'apartheid'!

As Karl-Peter Schwarz (left) also writes,

"In a representative study, the Center for Monitoring, Analysis, and Strategy (CeMAS) concluded that approval ratings for pro-Russian conspiracy theories among the German population have increased overall over the course of the Ukraine war. In April 2022, 12 percent agreed with the statement that NATO had provoked Russia until Russia had to go to war. In October, 19 percent were already of this opinion, 16 percent of them in western Germany and 33 percent in eastern Germany. The opinion that Ukraine is part of Russia was shared by 12 percent in the west and 24 percent in the east." (Gis Report : 17 January 2023) (my emphasis)

Please note that  former German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, was raised in East Germany. (cf. Marcel Fürstenau : East Germany: A failed experiment in dictatorship : 10 July 2019)

Lavrov, that dyed-in-the-wool Soviet foreign minister, is now scrambling around Africa to curry support for Putin's war with Ukraine as Putin's Kremlin 'siloviki' begins to disintegrate.

As reported by John Varga,

"Vladimir Putin is facing a major revolt from his key Chechen and Wagner allies, after a row over facial hair escalated into open warfare. The Kremlin recently appointed the Russian Chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, as the overall commander of Moscow's forces in Ukraine. The General replaced Sergey Surovikin, who had been in the post for just a mere three months." (Express : 24 January 2023) (my emphasis)

For Putin, time is fast running out.

In the words of Lavrov,

"Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, has said that Russia is "almost" in a conventional war with the West as the Kremlin fumes at the level of support for Ukraine." (Charlie Bradley : Express : 24 January 2023) (my emphasis)

(Charlie Bradley : Express : 24 January 2023)

(to be continued)