A Brics summit is scheduled to take place in South Africa next month, but Vladimir Putin will not be there since he has been accused of war crimes in Ukraine and a warrant has been issued for his arrest by the International Criminal Court. After a “number of consultations” with the Kremlin, South Africa’s presidential office confirmed that the Russian president will not be attending the meeting.
If the Russian leader attended the conference, South Africa would be expected to help in his arrest because it is a signatory to the ICC.
The possibility of Putin’s attendance caused a political controversy at home.
Cyril Ramaphosa, president of South Africa, warned that trying to apprehend Putin would increase tensions with Russia. His comments came after the country’s largest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, filed a lawsuit demanding Putin’s arrest upon his arrival.
In response, Ramaphosa reportedly said, “Russia has made it clear that arresting its sitting president would be a declaration of war,” as recorded in court filings. “An armed conflict with Russia would violate the Constitution on many levels,” according to the author.
Any attempt to extradite or arrest Putin in South Africa, the Kremlin said, would be a declaration of war. And it didn’t try to dispute that, either.
Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, stated, “Nobody informed anyone about anything.” “Everyone knows what it means to try to encroach on the Russian leader in this world.”
In March, the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for Putin’s arrest for his role in ordering the kidnapping of Ukrainian children during Russia’s invasion of the country. The Hague-based court found Putin and Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, guilty of “unlawful deportation” of thousands of Ukrainian children. An indictment of a current head of state is extremely unusual.
Russia has spoken out against the ICC ruling, claiming that it has no bearing on the country because Moscow has not signed the pact. However, since the ICC warrant was released, Putin has not been outside of the occupied areas of Ukraine.
The Kremlin has confirmed that Putin would participate in the Brics summit via videoconference. Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, will head a mission to the African nation.
The dates of August 24-26 have been decided for the summit. There will be delegates from Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa at this meeting. Since Covid, this is the first Brics summit to be held in person.
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