Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to attend an economic summit in South Africa next month and the country is desperately trying to persuade him to stay away to avoid the legal and diplomatic fallout over his international arrest warrant, South Africa’s deputy president said in an interview with a news Web site on Friday.
As a signatory to the treaty establishing the International Criminal Court, South Africa is obliged to arrest Putin on an indictment the court issued against the Russian leader in March for war crimes involving the abduction of children from Ukraine.
Moscow has dismissed the warrant. South African authorities are likely to breach the treaty and not arrest Putin, but some opposition parties, rights groups and legal advocates have said he should be arrested and have threatened to do it themselves, raising security issues for the BRICS summit in Johannesburg.
Photo: AFP
Having already decided not to condemn Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, South Africa faces the prospect of further straining relations with the West if it allows Putin to freely attend the summit of the BRICS emerging economies bloc of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
Russia wants Putin to attend alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and the other presidents, South African Vice President Paul Mashatile said in the interview with News24, a top South African news outlet.
“It’s a big dilemma for us. Of course, we cannot arrest him,” Mashatile said. “It’s almost like you invite your friend to your house, and then arrest them. That’s why for us, his not coming is the best solution. The Russians are not happy, though. They want him to come.”
Mashatile was put in charge of finding a solution by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Russia has rejected the alternatives, which included moving the summit to China, holding a virtual summit or Moscow being represented by Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov, Mashatile said.
Ramaphosa is now attempting to convince Putin not to travel to South Africa when they meet at the Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg at the end of this month, Mashatile said.
“We’ve now decided to leave this matter with the president, who is talking to Putin,” Mashatile said. “The president is going to the Russia-Africa summit later this month, so they will continue to talk. We want to show him the challenges that we face because we are part of the Rome Statute and we can’t wiggle out of this.”
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