JOHANNESBURG, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Tensions between South Africa and the United States have deepened following a fresh public exchange between South African International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola and U.S. Ambassador to South Africa Brent Bozell III.
On Monday, Bozell responded on social media platform X to remarks by Lamola, who said the U.S. envoy should "get out of the kitchen" if he was tired of dialogue and no longer believed in diplomatic engagement with Pretoria.
"So here we go again. Another Minister Lamola personal insult aimed at an American leader (this time me)," Bozell wrote, adding that the South African government then "wonders why relations are collapsing."
Lamola's remarks were published by the Sunday Times, a South African newspaper, on Sunday, days after South Africa issued a formal diplomatic protest, or demarche, to Bozell over what the government described as "undiplomatic conduct."
Lamola said he was "taken aback" by Bozell's remarks suggesting that Washington had grown tired of repeated discussions with Pretoria.
"You can't have a diplomat who says time for talking is over. It's our job to talk," Lamola was quoted as saying.
He also accused Bozell of interfering in South Africa's domestic affairs through his public statements and engagements.
On Sept. 29, South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation summoned Bozell over what it described as "undiplomatic conduct." It was the third demarche made to the U.S. envoy since he arrived in Pretoria in February.
The latest exchange came as Bozell continued to publicly criticize the South African government. In an interview with Fox News Digital published Sunday, he accused South African President Cyril Ramaphosa of refusing to condemn what he described as incitement to violence associated with the controversial anti-apartheid struggle chant "Kill the Boer."
The South African government has repeatedly rejected allegations of systematic persecution or "genocide" against white South Africans. Pretoria has said violent crime affects South Africans across racial groups and that its economic transformation policies are intended to address inequalities rooted in the country's apartheid past.
Disagreements between Washington and Pretoria have also centered on South Africa's land policies, race-based economic transformation measures and foreign policy positions.
In an opinion article published on the U.S. Embassy's website on Sept. 29, Bozell cited rural farm attacks, race-based measures affecting U.S. companies and what he called South Africa's "steady drift toward our adversaries" among Washington's concerns. He also criticized South Africa's land expropriation policy.
Bozell argued that South Africa's economic policies were discouraging some U.S. companies from investing in the country and said Washington had grown frustrated with what he described as Pretoria's failure to adequately respond to U.S. concerns.
South Africa has maintained that differences with Washington should be resolved through constructive diplomatic engagement, while insisting on respect for its sovereignty and its right to determine its domestic policies. ■