'Secret nuclear deal': No such thing

We took note of the article by John Matisonn – How Russia eased its way into SA nuclear – published in City Press on February 4 2020.

Regrettably, this is just another hit piece full of “classic” anti-Russian clichés, including, you guessed it, the “secret nuclear deal”.

What is remarkable is that it is the second article by Matisonn in City Press recently and both of them are serving the same purpose – advertising Matisonn’s book, Cyril’s Choices: Lessons from 25 Years of Freedom in South Africa. The desire to promote one’s own creation is understandable, although using anti-Russian innuendo to do so is unacceptable.

The article astonishes its reader from the very beginning: “State capture began in Russia long before South Africa.”

The first, instinctive reaction is to go back to the title again – what is it exactly that the author is writing about?

But on the substance: After the first Russian President Boris Yeltsin resigned, Vladimir Putin was acting president and then elected as such in the 2000 presidential election.

This is not a “state capture”, in other cases it is called “democratic transition of power”.

For some reason Matisonn denies that possibility to Russian people.

Apparently, in his quest for a “sensation” and new ways to drag attention to the book, the author substituted his wishes for the reality and make “discoveries” out of obvious things.

For example, the so-called Russia’s involvement in South African nuclear energy and mining was not a “part of a major increase in its African influence”. It was, in reality, a proposition of a commercial deal with a view to develop bilateral cooperation between Russia and South Africa in the nuclear energy area.

Choosing South Africa was quite natural as it is still the only country in Africa with a highly developed nuclear industry and history of operation of the only nuclear power plant on the continent. Should we have been guided by some other logic? Sorry to disappoint, Mr Matisonn, but it really is that simple and there was nothing “secret” about this proposal – the best proof of which is that you and some other journalists know so much about it.

Aside from the most threadbare anti-Russian clichés, there’s not much else to the article. Moreover, half of it seemed more like a draft script for a new James Bond movie. Planes with “a lot of cash” on board, “agents” “taking control of the equipment”, “liberation movement networks” – all this sounds more like something from good old pulp fiction.

In which case the title of the article – How Russia eased its way into SA nuclear – is misleading in its every element and should rather be taken as a mere misstatement, just as the rest of the writing.

Is Cyril’s Choices also falsely advertised to ease its way to South African bookshelves?

Alexander Arefiev - Press attaché, embassy: The Russian Federation

Get in touch  City Press

+27 11 713 9001 news@citypress.co.za Media Park, 69 Kingsway Road, Auckland Park

Rise above the clutter | Choose your news | City Press in your inbox

City Press is an agenda-setting South African news brand that publishes across platforms. Its flagship print edition is distributed on a Sunday.