The authorities of the Republic of South Africa are considering the possibility of moving the BRICS heads of state summit, scheduled for August 2023, from South Africa to China. About this on Wednesday, May 31, informed Reuters, citing sources.
A senior South African government official, who has not been named, told the news agency that there was a growing trend among South African officials to ask Chinese authorities to host the summit. BRICS in China. The country hosted the event last year.
On top South African officials’ attempts to convince President Cyril Ramaphosa to move the summit to China on May 30 informed The Daily Telegraph newspaper. According to the publication, this intention is motivated by the desire to avoid the need to solve the problem with the requirement of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin, suspected of “illegal transfer” of children Ukrainians to Russia.
Unlike China, South Africa is among the countries that have ratified the Rome Statute (the founding document of the ICC). In April, the South African leader’s office said the republic would not move out of the jurisdiction of the ICC.
According to South African Foreign Minister Zane Dangor, the final decision on the venue for the summit has yet to be made. He added that the authorized ministers will soon hold a meeting during which the possible options will be examined.
At the end of May, South Africa’s Deputy Minister of State Enterprises, Obed Bapela, told the BBC that the republic would pass a law that would allow it to decide for itself who to arrest in its territory under an ICC warrant and who not. An unnamed spokesperson for South Africa’s justice ministry said the local parliament would not have time to pass such an initiative before the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, scheduled for August 22-24.
In turn, former South African President Thabo Mbeki said in an interview with radio station 702 on May 25 that the summit is unlikely to take place in South Africa. “Due to our legal obligations, we have to arrest President Putin, but we cannot do that,” he said.
The Kremlin has yet to officially confirm Putin’s personal participation in the BRICS summit. On May 30, Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, responding to a related question, said Russia “will participate in this summit at the appropriate level,” but did not provide details. The Kremlin also expressed hope that Russia’s partner countries in the BRICS “will not be guided” by the “illegal decisions” of the ICC.
In late March, Bloomberg wrote, citing sources, that the government and ruling party in South Africa were considering all possible options to avoid Putin’s arrest if he made it to the BRICS summit. The Sunday Times reported in early May that South African authorities had told Putin not to come to the summit or he would have to be arrested. The source of the publication claimed that the republic had no choice but to arrest the President of Russia.
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