South Africa faces a growing diplomatic headache over the prospect of Russian President Vladimir Putin attending an international summit in Johannesburg.
The BRICS bloc of emerging economies comprised of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa is set to meet next month. But the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an international arrest warrant for Putin in March for the abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children in his full-scale invasion.
South Africa has not condemned Russia for the war although as an ICC signatory, South Africa would be obliged to arrest Putin under the Rome Statute, threatening its warm relations with Moscow.
South Africa's deputy president, Paul Mashatile, told the website News24, "we cannot arrest him. It's almost like you invite your friend to your house, and then arrest them." He added "his not coming is the best solution."
However, none of the three alternatives Mashatile had proposed have been accepted by all BRICS partners. These included relocating the summit to China, Putin not attending but sending Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov instead, or holding a virtual summit.
Russian officials have said that Putin's attendance was still uncertain with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov telling Russian media, "we are considering various options."
"The Russians are not happy," Mashatile told News 24, "they want him to come." No decision had been taken to un-invite Putin and the issue would be discussed when South African President Cyril Ramaphosa meets Putin in Russia later in July.
The ICC issued the arrest warrant on March 17 for Putin and his children's ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova for the "illegal deportation of children from the occupied territories of Ukraine to Russia."
In a statement to Newsweek in May, Human Rights Watch said, "Ukrainian children were forcibly deported to Russia or transferred within Russian-controlled territory" and that "this constitutes a war crime."
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the ICC decision was "provocative and categorically unacceptable." Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said he was confident that Putin would be provided with immunity during the summit in South Africa, the business newspaper RBC reported.
In a statement on May 29, the South African government said that those taking part in the meeting which runs from August 22 to 24 would have diplomatic immunity.
However, Karim Khan, the ICC prosecutor in The Hague, said South Africa would be obliged to comply with international law and arrest Putin if he arrived in the country for the summit.
"South Africa has experienced a crime against humanity for decades, the crime of apartheid, I don't think it needs my teachings," Khan said, according to the news outlet NEXTA.
Newsweek has contacted the ICC and the Russian Foreign Ministry by email for comment.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Brendan Cole is a Newsweek Senior News Reporter based in London, UK. His focus is Russia and Ukraine, in particular ... Read more
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