Avellon Williams
JOHANNESBURG — President Cyril Ramaphosa announced Sunday that the BRICS summit next month, to which Vladimir Putin has been invited, will be held in person regardless of Putin’s arrest warrant.
“The BRICS summit is going ahead and we are finalizing our discussions on the format,” Ramaphosa told journalists on the sidelines of a conference by the ruling ANC, adding it will be a “physical” meeting.
The official did not mention whether Putin – who has been wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over accusations of unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children – would attend the meeting.
“We are going to have a physical BRICS summit, all of us are committed to having a summit where we will be able to eyeball each other,” he said in response to a question.
“We have not held a physical summit for…almost three years. It’s not going to be virtual,” he stressed.
ICC member South Africa would have to arrest Putin if he enters its territory.
According to the local media, Pretoria was rumored to be considering moving the talks to China to avoid having to arrest Putin.
Due to Pretoria’s close relationship with the Kremlin since the anti-apartheid struggle, the arrest warrant poses a diplomatic dilemma.
As an impartial country, South Africa has not condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
A historic attempt to broker peace between Kyiv and Moscow was made last month by Ramaphosa, Egypt’s president, Senegal’s president, and Uganda’s president.
During the mission of African leaders, the voice of a continent whose grain prices have been rising with the repercussions of the Ukraine conflict was heard.
A 10-point proposal was presented, including de-escalation, the recognition of countries’ sovereignty, unhindered grain exports through the Black Sea, and the return of prisoners of war and children.
South Africa chairs the BRICS, a grouping of heavyweights including Brazil, Russia, India, and China with the aim of challenging the dominant US and European-led international governance structures.
This year’s BRICS summit will take place from August 22 to 24 at the Sandton Convention Center in Johannesburg, the financial hub of the continent.
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