South African officials told Putin should attend summit virtually or be required to ARREST him

South African officials have been warned that Vladimir Putin must attend the BRICS summit they are hosting virtually or be required to arrest the Russian president.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against Putin last month, and South Africa as an ICC member should detain Putin if he attends the 15th BRICS summit that South Africa will host in August.

BRICS includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, a group seen as a powerful emerging market alternative for the West.

In an interview at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, where she was participating in a seminar, Ukrainian activist Oleksandra Romantsova told Reuters: “If Putin comes here…they (South Africa) should arrest him.

It’s a complicated political situation. So better that Putin participates via Zoom.’

In an interview at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, where she was participating in a seminar, Ukrainian activist Oleksandra Romantsova told Reuters: “If Putin comes here…they (South Africa) should arrest him.”

Romantsova, executive director of the Ukrainian Center for Civil Liberties, which jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize last year, was part of a Ukrainian civil society delegation seeking to share as much information as possible about the war that raged more than a year after the invasion of Russia is still raging.

Zane Dangor, director-general of South Africa’s Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation, said officials from his department met with the Ukrainian delegation but declined to go into details.

The ICC issued the order against Putin claiming that Moscow’s forcible deportation of Ukrainian children was a war crime.

The Kremlin reacted indignantly, saying all court decisions are “null and void.”

Moscow has repeatedly denied allegations that its troops committed atrocities during its invasion of Ukraine, what Russia calls “a special military operation.”

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said this week that his government was still deliberating on the arrest warrant against Putin. Three officials with knowledge of those deliberations have told Reuters that Putin’s virtual attendance of the BRICS summit was one option being considered.

The ICC issued the order against Putin claiming that Moscow’s forcible deportation of Ukrainian children was a war crime. The Kremlin reacted indignantly, saying all court decisions are “null and void.”

BRICS includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, a group seen as a powerful emerging market alternative for the West. Activist Ms. Romantsova added: “It is a complicated political situation. So better that Putin participates via Zoom’

South Africa is one of Russia’s most important allies on a continent divided over the war in Ukraine and Western attempts to isolate Moscow as a result.

South Africa held a joint naval exercise with Russia and China in February, a month after a visit by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Ramaphosa spoke last year about South Africa as a mediator in the conflict, but it never received much attention.

Romantsova said that if South Africa wanted to mediate, it had to have strong ties with Ukraine, not just Russia. “You have to understand the situation in Ukraine, you have to have a regular connection,” she said