The Republic of South Africa is asking the President of Russia not to visit them, because an international warrant has been issued for the Russian President.
South Africa is trying to convince Russian President Vladimir Putin not to attend the BRICS economic summit in August. If he came to the event, the local government would have to arrest him. The economic summit of BRICS, which will be held in August, will be attended by representatives of member countries of this group, namely South Africa, Russia, China, India and Brazil. However, it has been since March an international warrant has been issued for the Russian president, and the Republic of South Africa falls under the jurisdiction of the ICC (International Criminal Court).
The South African government is now talking to the Russians about the possibility of avoiding conflict with the Western international community over Putin’s upcoming visit. Earlier, Western Cape Prime Minister Alan Wind criticized the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party for inviting Putin despite the ICC ruling. He added that he would order the local police to detain the Russian leader upon his arrival.
An unnamed official told South Africa’s Sunday Times that South Africa, as a signatory to the Rome Statute, could not allow Putin to “enter the country and not be arrested”. Therefore, he suggests that the Russian president join the meeting via video link.
Chaos and confused communication reign in the presidential office in recent days. On Tuesday, April 25, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the government had decided to withdraw the country from the International Criminal Court (ICC) and would therefore not fall under its jurisdiction. A day later, the president’s office corrected itself, denying the previous claim, saying it was a “false remark at a press conference”.
On March 18 of this year, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin. The reason is the accusation of the war crime of the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children.
(WORLD)