Cape Town: Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend next month’s BRICS economic summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office said.
According to international media reports, an arrest warrant against Putin was issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), after which South Africa was under intense pressure to arrest Putin, who was coming to attend the meeting, but Putin has given up the decision to attend the meeting, easing the difficulties of the president.
Earlier, Cyril Ramaphosa said that if Putin was arrested during his visit to South Africa, a world war could break out. Ramaphosa’s office said the decision for Putin not to attend had been made by “mutual agreement”. However, instead of him, Russia will be represented by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the summit to be held on August 22-24.
Media reports said that the Russian president’s decision not to attend the meeting meant that South Africa would not have to face the dilemma of whether to implement an ICC arrest warrant or maintain friendly relations with the Russian president.
It should be noted that the BRICS organization consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. In addition, South Africa is a signatory to the treaty establishing the ICC, under which it is bound to arrest Putin.
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