South African President: Putin not to attend BRICS summit.

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin will not attend the upcoming BRICS summit and Russia will be represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, South Africa's presidential office informed[1] on July 19. "By mutual agreement, President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation will not attend the Summit but the Russian Federation will be represented by Foreign Minister, Mr Sergey Lavrov," the statement said. This August, the African country will host a summit of BRICS countries, that is Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

Leaders of the remaining four members are expected to attend, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa's office said. Putin's participation at the summit has been contentious due to the arrest warrant[2] issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the deportation of Ukrainian children. As a signatory of the Rome Statute, South Africa is obliged to detain the Russian dictator if possible.

Hosts of the forum have been sending mixed statements on Putin's potential arrival. On July 13, Stavros Nicolaou from the BRICS Business Council claimed[3] that all five leaders of the BRICS countries are scheduled to arrive.   According to media reports[4] from April, Ramaphosa, who has been building a close relationship with Moscow, asked Putin not to come to the summit in person.

On July 18, South Africa's president said[5] that any attempt at arresting Putin would be a declaration of war.

South African president presents 10-step peace plan in Kyiv South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa presented a ten-point peace plan of the African Peace Mission during his visit to Kyiv, Ukrinform wrote on June 16. As the main points, Ramaphosa emphasized that the Russo-Ukrainian War must be settled, and peace has to be achieved through diplomatic means as...

[6] Martin Fornusek

News Editor

Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent.

He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He also volunteers as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukrainer. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.

References

  1. ^ informed (www.thepresidency.gov.za)
  2. ^ arrest warrant (kyivindependent.com)
  3. ^ claimed (kyivindependent.com)
  4. ^ reports (kyivindependent.com)
  5. ^ said (www.bbc.com)
  6. ^ South African president presents 10-step peace plan in KyivSouth Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa presented a ten-point peace plan of the African Peace Mission during his visit to Kyiv, Ukrinform wrote on June 16.

    As the main points, Ramaphosa emphasized that the Russo-Ukrainian War must be settled, and peace has to be achieved through diplomatic means as... (kyivindependent.com)

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