Putin, threatened with arrest, will not attend the summit of Brics countries in South Africa

the russian president Vladimir Putinthe target of an international arrest warrant, will not attend the summit of the BRICS countries in South Africa in August, the South African presidency said on Wednesday, ending months of speculation.

Putin’s possible visit had become a controversial issue for South Africa, as the Russian president is the subject of an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) that the African country should implement if necessary, since it recognizes that court.

“By mutual agreement, President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation will not attend the summit, but the Russian Federation will be represented by Foreign Minister Mr. [Serguéi] lavrov”Vincent Magwenya, a spokesman for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, said in a statement.

The decision was made after numerousqueries” made by Ramaphosa in recent months, the latest being “last night” (Tuesday night), Magwenya said.

South Africa currently holds the presidency of the BRICSthe group of five great emerging powers (South Africa, Brazil, China, India and Russia).

putin He was officially invited to the group’s heads of state summit scheduled for August 22-24 in Johannesburg, but the South African government has come under strong internal and external pressure not to receive the Russian president.

The leaders of the other countries will be present, Magwenya said.

“President Ramaphosa is confident that the summit will be a success and urges the country to extend the necessary hospitality to the many delegates who will arrive from various parts of the continent and the world.”, added the spokesperson.

Putin is wanted by the ICC over allegations that Russia illegally deported Ukrainian children.

In a statement released Tuesday, Ramaphosa wrote that arresting him would have amounted to a declaration of war on Russia.

The documents are a response to a request by the main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party, which wanted to pressure the government and ensure that Putin was handed over to the ICC if he visited South Africa.

“Victory for South Africa”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said that “it is absolutely clear to everyone” the consequences of Putin’s possible arrest.

The affidavit revealed that South Africa was seeking an exemption from the ICC rules, arguing that carrying out the arrest could risk the “security, peace and order of the State”.

An arrest would also have undermined South Africa’s efforts to help end the war in Ukraine and “prevented any peaceful solutionRamaphosa alleged.

Last month, Ramaphosa led an African mission with representatives from seven countries, including Egypt, Senegal and Zambia, which traveled to kyiv and St. Petersburg.

Pretoria has long maintained that it wants to remain neutral on the war in Ukraine but has been accused of leaning towards Moscow.

Some feared that hosting Putin could be interpreted as a sign of support for Russia and endangering South Africa’s economic and trade relations with Europe and the United States.

The African nation’s trade with Russia is much smaller, but its ties date back to the apartheid era, when the Kremlin supported Nelson Mandela and his ruling African National Congress party in the fight against the racist regime.

John Steenhuisen, leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA), said the fact that Putin did not travel to South Africa was a “victory” for the country.

Both South Africa’s economic interests and its “reputation on the international scene and his commitment to defending the law were at stake in this matter”, he said in a statement.

South African Vice President Paul Mashatile recently told local media that the government had tried to convince Putin not to travel to South Africa but had met with resistance from the Kremlin.

Ramaphosa will travel to Russia next week to attend the Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg.

Source: AFP