Finance
According to a media source, Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the BRICS Summit conference in South Africa next month.
The announcement came after a South African leader declared that any attempt to detain Vladimir Putin would be considered a declaration of war against Russia. This is because, according to the BBC, if Putin leaves Russian territory, he will be vulnerable to an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant.
South Africa is an ICC signatory and is likely to assist in the arrest of Putin in that case. Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s Foreign Minister, will instead represent the country at the two-day conference.
Putin, on the other hand, will attend the Brics summit – an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – virtually, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, according to Russian media.
Some consider the Brics as a viable alternative to the G7 group of advanced economies.
According to the BBC, South Africa’s presidency termed the agreement for Putin not to go as “mutual” and said it came about after a “number of consultations” on the summit.
Russia supporters have blasted the decision, claiming that South Africa should have pushed and utilized its sovereignty to protect and defend its “friend.”
South Africa’s invitation to Putin, issued before the worldwide Criminal Court charged him with war crimes in Ukraine, sparked national and worldwide outrage, according to the BBC.
Peskov disputed that Moscow had advised South Africa that arresting its President would be considered an act of war, but said that it was “clear to everyone what [that kind of] nfringement against the head of the Russian state would mean”.
According to the BBC, Russia has continually described the ICC arrest order as ridiculous and legally illegitimate because the country is not a member of the organization.
Source:IANS
