A United States move to suspend military aid to South Africa will mean an annual loss of $7.6-million (about R56.8-million) in such assistance, the military said on Wednesday.

Defence Ministry spokesperson Sam Mkhwanazi said this was the figure for the current year as well as the coming one.

"So, that will be more or less our annual loss," he told Sapa in Pretoria.

The US has suspended military aid to South Africa because it will not give Americans immunity from prosecution by the new International Criminal Court in The Hague.

The move — announced on Tuesday — came a week before US President George Bush's official visit to South Africa.

South Africa is one of 35 countries blacklisted by US. Total US aid to the group amounted to about $47-million (about R350-million).

US officials reportedly said Washington would continue pressing these countries to sign immunity deals - so-called Article-98 agreements - with the US so that the aid could be restored.

Several NATO countries exempted from sanction threat

Several countries, including members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, have been exempted from the threat of sanctions.

At least 51 countries have reportedly signed the immunity deal with the US.

South African deputy foreign affairs minister Aziz Pahad said on Wednesday the US move would not affect Bush's visit to Pretoria.

"We have been aware of this, and we knew the deadline was July 1 under the American Service Members Protection Act," he told reporters in Pretoria.

Under this act, military assistance had to be suspended to countries which had not signed an Article-98 pact with the US.

"There was no way in which in the American processes could be stopped for this announcement to be made," Pahad said.

He said South Africa had not yet signed because the matter was still under discussion.

Matter will be discussed with Bush

"When the visit (by Bush) comes, it will be further discussed. Maybe, we will be able to get a waiver (or exemption), I don't know."

South Africa was a signatory to the international criminal court, and it could not do anything that clashed with this obligation.

"This Article 98 is seen as a possibility of meeting our obligations at both levels. So we have to consult extensively on this," Pahad said.

"If any formula allows us to do both, of course we would not object in principle."

Pahad said US estimates were that the loss in military aid to South Africa in 2004 would amount to $7.2-million (R53.8-million).

Pledges of such assistance before Tuesday would not be affected, he said.

With acknowledgements to Sapa and iafrica.com.