---
title: "Russia relay — Presidency’s intelligence minister jets off to Moscow a week after the army chief’s visit"
description: "A spokesperson for Khumbudzo Ntshavheni says South Africa has attended the high-level security meeting since 2013."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "WAR IN UKRAINE"
author: "Ferial Haffajee"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/ferialhaffajee/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-05-22-russia-relay-presidencys-intelligence-minister-jets-off-to-moscow-a-week-after-the-army-chiefs-visit/"
published: "2023-05-22T12:29:32"
updated: "2023-05-22T13:16:49"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 372
---

# Russia relay — Presidency’s intelligence minister jets off to Moscow a week after the army chief’s visit

> A spokesperson for Khumbudzo Ntshavheni says South Africa has attended the high-level security meeting since 2013.

By Ferial Haffajee · Published 22 May 2023, 14:29 SAST · Updated 22 May 2023, 15:16 SAST

## Key points
- South Africa is attempting to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine while also positioning itself as part of the BRICS superpower alliance, sending high-level delegations to Moscow for meetings focused on food security and international security.
- Army chief Lawrence Mbatha attended a Moscow military meeting
- Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni will leave for an annual meeting of intelligence officials and ministers in Moscow
- Ntshaveni’s visit to Moscow is part of a six-country attempt to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine
- Russia and China are trying to ensure South Africa falls squarely into their sphere of influence ahead of the BRICS Summit in Durban

## Content

Army chief Lawrence Mbatha had barely touched down at Waterkloof from a Moscow military meeting when the Minister in the Presidency responsible for Intelligence will put wheels up.

On May 22, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni will leave for an annual meeting of intelligence officials and ministers in Moscow, the Presidency announced - on the day she was due to leave.

“This annual meeting will discuss general trends in the international security situation, including food security,” said her spokesperson Sipho Mbele. Ntshavheni will be accompanied by a high-level intelligence team likely to include the head of intelligence. When asked for detail on the gathering, Mbele said the key item on the agenda is “food security” in the Black Sea region.

The war on Ukraine has imperilled grain imports to the rest of Africa.

Mbele said Ntshaveni would also discuss the African Leaders Peace Mission to Russia and Ukraine. A different intelligence team is already in Ukraine, the Presidency said.

President Cyril Ramaphosa revealed last week that South Africa is part of a six-country attempt to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine. (Read Peter Fabricius and Queenin Masuabi [here](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-05-18-russia-ukraine-conflict-far-from-being-ripe-for-mediation-as-african-delegation-heads-to-europe-say-experts/) on the chances of such a mission).

Mbele said an advanced team of intelligence leaders was already in Moscow before the meeting.

Russia announced the meeting in February and said high-level Chinese participation was expected. “I am counting on the personal participation of member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Politburo Chen Wenqing, Secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, in the 11th international meeting of high representatives overseeing security issues in the Moscow Region on May 23 to 25,” Russia’s Security Council secretary Nikolai Patrushev told Russian state news agency *Tass*.

Russia and China are trying to ensure South Africa falls squarely into their sphere of influence ahead of the BRICS Summit in Durban in August. The BRICS grouping includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Peter Fabricius reported [here](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-05-07-countries-of-the-global-south-show-a-surge-of-interest-in-joining-brics-anil-sooklal/) on countries who want to join BRICS — a grouping increasingly used as a bulwark to sharpen global divisions and position China and Russia as leading superpowers.

Ntshaveni’s visit to Moscow is the third major South African political delegation by the governing ANC to Moscow this year. **DM**