Pretoria to put Putin behind bars if he arrives for BRICS summit

South Africa has warned Russia’s president Vladimir Putin that he would rather not come to the BRICS summit in August. Otherwise, he will be arrested under a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), according to S.A.’s Sunday Times.

“We have no option not to arrest Putin,” a government official told the newspaper. “If he comes here, we will be forced to detain him.”

Last week, S.A. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that Pretoria would pull out of the ICC to allow Putin to attend the summit. Embarrassingly, Ramaphosa had to walk back his statements less than 24 hours, when the ruling party African National Congress denied a decision to exit the ICC had been taken, according to bne IntelliNews.

Moreover, a special government commission appointed by Ramaphosa and led by the S.A. vice president has concluded that the country has no choice but to arrest Putin if he sets foot on South African soil.

As a way out, Pretoria is negotiating with Moscow Putin’s participation in the BRICS summit via video conference, according to NV.

“Attending the summit alongside the leaders of South Africa, China, India and Brazil would have been a significant diplomatic coup for Putin, as well as his first major foreign trip since he ordered Russian troops into Ukraine,” bne IntelliNews says.

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Photo: Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. SERGEI CHIRIKOV/AFP via DW