Russian President Vladimir V. Putin is moving ahead with his plans to attend a summit in South Africa next month, even as the host country grapples with the diplomatic and legal fallout of its expected presence, South Africa’s deputy president said on Friday.
South Africa is expected to hold a meeting of BRICS countries Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa in Johannesburg in August. The heads of state of the other four nations are expected to attend, but an international arrest warrant for Mr Putin has left South Africa in a bind.
“It’s a big dilemma for us,” Deputy President Paul Mashatile told the South African news website News24. “Of course we can’t arrest him. It’s almost like inviting your friend over to your house and then arresting him. Therefore, for us, not coming is the best solution.”
The International Criminal Court has accused Mr Putin of war crimes over his role in kidnapping and deporting Ukrainian children. South Africa, a member of the court, is obliged to arrest Mr Putin when he arrives in the country. Noting their good relations with Russia, South African officials said they would seek legal advice in assessing their obligations to the International Court of Justice.
“However, the Russians are not happy,” Mr Mashatile said. “They want him to come.”
Mr Mashatile chairs a committee tasked with figuring out how to deal with the diplomatic headache. South African officials have proposed several possible solutions, all of which have failed to convince their counterparts in the BRICS countries, said Vukani Mde, Mr Mashatile’s spokesman.
A virtual summit was rejected, as was the possibility of Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov standing up for Mr Putin. There was also no “unanimous support” for the proposal to move the summit to China, which is not a member of the International Court of Justice, Mde said.
Russian officials have pushed back, unhappy with the possibility of Mr Putin being banned from attending a meeting of heads of state. However, South Africa is still trying to find a solution and its President Cyril Ramaphosa is continuing to discuss the matter with Mr Putin, the spokesman said.
“The South African Government is deeply concerned at the unprecedented situation of the arrest of an incumbent head of state,” said Mr Mde.
