BRICS Summit in South Africa: Putin’s Absence Ensures Smooth Progress and Success

2023-07-20 14:05:02

Absence of BRICS summit in South Africa: Putin does not want to ‘hinder’ the meeting

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided not to attend the upcoming BRICS summit in Johannesburg because he does not want to “hammer” the summit, a senior South African diplomat said on Monday.

The potential visit by Vladimir Putin has created a diplomatic and legal dilemma for South Africa, which will host the BRICS summit on Aug. 22-24.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Putin in March for war crimes involving the forced transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia. If he attends this meeting, South Africa, as a member of the International Criminal Court, is obliged to arrest him.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office issued a statement yesterday announcing that Putin will not attend the summit in person and will be represented by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to resolve the uncertainty.

South Africa’s ambassador-at-large to Asia and the BRICS, Anil Sooklal, said Putin would participate in the discussions via videoconference, according to a “collective” decision.

“President Putin understands the dilemma facing South Africa, he doesn’t want to jeopardize the summit, he doesn’t want to create problems for South Africa,” he told a media briefing in Johannesburg.

South Africa is currently the rotating chairman of the BRICS group composed of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The BRICS consider themselves an important force to balance the existing international economic structure dominated by the West.

Sukral said South Africa was confident the talks would be “a complete success” even though Putin would not be there in person. He stressed that Putin “will be fully involved in all discussions”, albeit remotely.

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