Nigeria, Sept. 30 -- Despite South Africa's diplomatic efforts in the United States (US) during last week's United Nations General Assembly, bilateral ties with Washington remain strained.

In the most recent escalation on 15 September, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced visa restrictions targeting South Africans involved in uncompensated land seizures, race-based discrimination, and violence against minorities. This builds on months of disagreement over South Africa's foreign policy leanings and domestic efforts aimed at historic redress, which has led the US to exclude Pretoria from this year's G20 meetings.

On 29 September, Pretoria formally reprimanded US Ambassador Leo Bozell for his recent criticisms of the government - hi...