Putin will not be able to attend the BRICS summit due to arrest warrant
It has been announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the BRICS summit in South Africa next month after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for his war crimes.
In March, the ICC announced that an arrest warrant had been issued for Putin and Russia’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, on charges of “trafficking Ukrainian children to Russia”. The decision put Putin at risk of arrest in many countries.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: “The decisions of the International Criminal Court have no meaning for our country, including legal aspects. Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and has no obligations accordingly.
Putin and the BRICS leaders
SOUTH AFRICA’S LEADER SAID ‘WAR ON OUR COUNTRY’?
Meanwhile, all eyes were on the leaders’ meeting of the BRICS, of which Russia is one of the member states, to be held in South Africa in August. Since South Africa is part of the ICC, the news that Putin had to be detained upon entering the country sparked controversy.
In a statement made today by the South African Presidency, it was stated that Putin will not attend the summit and that the two countries mutually agreed on this issue. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was reported to attend the meeting in Putin’s place.
News that South African leader Cyril Ramaphosa turned to the ICC and claimed that arresting Putin would mean a “declaration of war” was reported in the press. It was alleged that Ramaphosa asked the ICC for permission not to arrest Putin because he feared that Russia would declare war on his country in such a crisis.
KREMLIN: WE DO NOT THREATEN
The Kremlin denied having threatened South Africa in this regard. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that they did not tell South Africa that arresting Putin would mean war, but that everyone knew that such a situation would lead to a major crisis.
South Africa stresses its neutrality in the Ukraine war. Some Western countries, on the other hand, criticize the country, which is an ally of Russia, for being soft on Moscow.