Russian President Vladimir Putin will not participate in the Brics (South Africa, Brazil, China, India and Russia) summit scheduled for the end of August in Johannesburg, the South African presidency announced on Wednesday, putting an end to several months of speculation about the issue.
This announcement saves a thorny dilemma in Pretoria, which chairs the Brics and refuses to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In fact, Vladimir Putin is the subject of an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant and, as a member of the ICC, South Africa is theoretically supposed to arrest him if he enters its territory.
South Africa currently chairs the BRICS, a group of five great emerging powers that wants to gain more influence in international institutions hitherto dominated by the United States and Europe. Their next summit, their fifteenth, is scheduled for August 22-24 at a convention center in Johannesburg.
This decision was made after “a series of consultations” carried out by Cyril Ramaphosa in recent months, the last of which “last night”, said Vincent Magwenya.
“A Declaration of War”
Arrêter Vladimir Putine serait une “declaration de guerre” à la Russie et menacerait “la sécurité, la paix et l’ordre de l’Etat” sud-africain, avait estimé M. Ramaphosa dans des documents published mardi, en plein débat national sur issue.
The case took a legal turn when South Africa’s main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), asked the court to compel the government to guarantee that Vladimir Putin would be arrested and handed over to the ICC if he set foot in the country.
In a recent interview with local media, South African Vice President Paul Mashatile said his government was trying to talk Vladimir Putin out of attending the summit.
Source: BFM TV
