The South African government and the ruling African National Congress party are considering "all options to avoid the execution of a warrant" by the International Criminal COURT (ICC) for the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of the BRICS summit, BLOOMBERG writes, citing two officials at the country's Foreign Ministry.
According to the publication, the South African government is consulting with lawyers on this issue. South Africa is unlikely to arrest any HEAD of state during his visit, the sources said.
Representatives of the South African Foreign Ministry declined to comment.
South African presidential spokesman Vincent Magvenia said on March 20 that the country is taking into account the ICC warrant in The Hague for Putin's arrest and "is aware of its legal obligations."
“However, prior to the summit, we will continue to engage with various relevant stakeholders,” he stressed.
In January, the republic's ambassador, Mzuvukile Maketuka, announced South Africa's intention to invite Putin to the BRICS summit. “All presidents will be invited, this is standard practice,” he assured.
Read PIONERPRODUKT .by "I'm the boss - you're a fool." How teams turn into “spider jars” From the creation of McAfee to death in prison: the story of the US “antivirus millionaire”, CANADA, UK: is it possible to find a job in these countries today Shazam founder: “We made the first profit after 17 years”The 15th BRICS Summit (Brazil, RUSSIA , India, CHINA , South Africa) is scheduled for August 15, 2023. This will be the first face-to-face meeting of leaders within the organization since the start of the covid-19 pandemic . Putin attended the summit in South Africa in person in 2013.
The ICC in mid-March issued an arrest warrant for Putin and children's ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova, finding them "allegedly responsible for the war crime of illegal deportation of the population (children)" from Ukraine to Russia.
The Russian Foreign Ministry responded by calling the court's decision "legally void." Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the ICC decision "outrageous and unacceptable."
123 states are members of the ICC, among which are the countries of Europe, South America and about half of the countries of Africa.
Russia, Ukraine, usa, China, Turkey, India and others have not ratified the Rome Statute. Nevertheless, US President Joe Biden called the ICC decision reasonable, and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky considered it a "turning point." The EU said that Brussels took note of the decision.