South Africa says Putin would skip BRICS summit next month due to ICC arrest warrant.
Because it is a signatory to the Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court, South Africa would have been required to arrest Vladimir Putin.
CAPE TOWN: South Africa, which was debating whether to arrest Putin on an International Criminal Court warrant, asked Putin to skip an economic summit in Johannesburg next month.
BRICS—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—meet in August. Officials say Putin wants to attend the gathering but are trying to persuade him to stay away to avoid legal and diplomatic ramifications over his international arrest warrant.
The office of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Wednesday that Putin will not attend the BRICS summit after a “mutual agreement,” ending months of speculation. The Rome Statute, which created the ICC, required South Africa to arrest him.
Since he was indicted by the ICC in March for war crimes related to the abduction of Ukrainian children, Putin has not travelled to any signatory to the court’s treaty.
South Africa’s major opposition party has sued the government to force it to arrest Putin if he enters the country.
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