South Africa 's ruling African National Congress has announced that it has sent senior officials to Russia on a "working visit" with President Vladimir Putin 's United Russia party, including for "discussions on resetting the global order".

The party said in a statement that "this visit comes at the invitation of the United Russia party, the largest political party in Russia and the old ally and friend of the African National Congress."

He pointed out that the visit includes "discussions about resetting the world order in order to reverse the consequences of neo-colonialism and the unipolar world that prevailed before."

South Africa has been facing criticism since the beginning of the war in Ukraine due to its proximity to Moscow, and Pretoria asserts that it adopts a "neutral" position and refuses to join Western calls to condemn Russia, explaining that it wants to promote dialogue.

The southern African country is scheduled to host in August the BRICS summit, which includes Brazil, China, India and Russia, while in March the International Criminal Court, based in The Hague, issued an arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin on charges of war crimes.

The visit of representatives of the African National Congress, which began Thursday, will continue until Sunday, and the delegation is headed by Obed Babila, a member of the party's influential executive committee.

South Africa hosted naval exercises with Russia and China off its coast in February, which sparked international concern.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov paid an official visit to Pretoria in January.

Relations between South Africa and Russia date back to the apartheid era with the Kremlin supporting the ANC in the fight against the apartheid regime.