APA-Pretoria (South Africa) Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the 15th summit of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) set for next month in Johannesburg, South Africa’s presidency confirmed on Wednesday.
According to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office, Russia would be represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
“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. Sergey Lavrov,” the presidency said.
The announcement has ended months of speculation on whether the Russian leader, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for allegedly committing war crimes in Ukraine, would take the risk of stepping on South African soil.
An arrest warrant was issued in March alleging that Putin had deported 30,000 Ukrainian to Russia without authorisation.
As a signatory to the Rome Treaty that set up the ICC, South Africa is obliged to arrest the Russian leader if he ever set foot in the country – an act that Ramaphosa has described as tantamount to “declaring war on Russia.”
Ramaphosa has in recent weeks held a number of consultations on the hosting of the summit, with the most recent consultation in this regard taking place on Tuesday at the BRICS Political Party Dialogue in Gauteng province.
He confirmed the country’s readiness to host the historic 15th summit of the BRICS, the first summit to be hosted in person since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent global restrictions.
NM/jn/APA