The South African government links this to the warrant issued by the ICC.
The authorities of the Republic of South Africa have reportedly asked Russian President Vladimir Putin not to attend the BRICS summit due to an arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC). At the same time, the South African government invites the Russian leader to participate in the meeting via video link.
High-level talks between South African and Russian authorities are reported by the Sunday Times. Journalists write that South Africa insists that the Russian president stay at home and not come to the BRICS summit. Thus, in Cape Town, they want to avoid the diplomatic consequences due to the arrest warrant issued by the ICC against Vladimir Putin.
The article also indicates that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has decided to form a committee to study options in the event of Putin’s unexpected arrival. Moreover, local authorities report that if the Russian president visits, they will obey ICC rules and be forced to arrest him.
Talks of a possible visit by Putin to South Africa were announced in March. After that, in early April, South African BRICS Sherpa Anila Suklal announced that all leaders would attend the summit in person. The press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Peskov, noted that Vladimir Putin had received an invitation to participate in the BRICS summit, but that the final format in the Kremlin had been determined “closer to the goal”.
In turn, Russian political scientist Sergei Markov views Putin’s visit to the BRICS summit as unlikely. The expert links this decision not so much to the prospects of arrest as to the possibility of a terrorist attack against the Russian leader.
“There is a threat of a terrorist attack against Putin from the American and British intelligence services, literally distraught because of Putin. Therefore, Putin flies abroad only to the territories of friendly countries. And on the way to South Africa, you have to cross too many countries from which the American and British intelligence services can organize a terrorist attack, so only online, ”writes the political scientist on his channel.
Earlier, German media reported that Ukrainian terrorists tried to assassinate Vladimir Putin. For this, a drone with 17 kg of explosives was used. However, the kamikaze drone crashed not far from the industrial park, which was to be visited by the Russian president.
Recall that in March, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin. The court issued a similar document to children’s ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova. After that, Armenia announced the start of the ratification of the statute of the International Criminal Court.
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