Russia did not tell South Africa that arresting President Vladimir Putin on an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) would mean “war”, the Kremlin said on Wednesday.
Shortly after the Kremlin’s comments, South Africa said that Putin would not attend the August 2023 BRICS summit. The summit of the five nations shall be held in South Africa.
An arrest warrant has been issued against Mr Putin by International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes in Ukraine.
The ICC has accused Putin and his children’s commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova of the war crime of deporting children from Ukraine to Russia, something Moscow rejects as false.
South Africa is an ICC signatory. The rainbow nation would thus be obliged to arrest Putin if he goes there. However, South Africa and Russia are members of BRICS. Furthermore, South Africa has remained neutral on the conflict in Ukraine, putting the country in an awkward position.
A local court submission published on Tuesday had shown that South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa had asked permission from the ICC not to arrest Putin.
Speaking before South Africa said Putin would not be attending, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that everyone understood – without having it explained to them – what an attempt to infringe on Putin’s rights would mean.
“No, no such formulations were uttered. No one gave anyone to understand that,” said Peskov when asked about any warning from Russia about the possibility of war if Putin was arrested.
“It is clear to everyone in this world what an attempt to infringe on the rights of the head of Russia means. So there is no need to explain anything to anyone here.“
Putin will not attend BRICS summit by ‘Mutual consent‘
While making the announcement on Putin, the South African government said that the Russian President would not attend the BRICS summit ‘by mutual consent’.
“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,” a press statement from Ramaphosa’s spokesperson said.
Alongside President Ramaphosa, the leaders of Brazil, India, and China will be at the event, in Johannesburg.
BRICS is a bloc of emerging economies, seen by some as an alternative to the G7 group of advanced economies.
