The South African authorities asked Vladimir Putin not to attend the BRICS summit, which will be held in this country in August, because of a warrant for his arrest issued by the International Criminal Court. The South African newspaper The Sunday Times writes about this, citing its own sources.
“We have no option not to arrest Putin. If he comes here, we will have to arrest him,” an unnamed South African government official told the newspaper.
According to the Sunday Times, South African President Cyril Ramaposa ordered the creation of a special committee that will consider possible options for action in connection with the current situation. The source of the publication noted that he sees no way to solve the problem, except to invite Putin to participate in the summit via video link. Unnamed officials confirmed to the newspaper that negotiations are already under way with Moscow.
At the end of March, Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that the decision on his participation in the summit had not yet been made.
On March 17, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin and Children's Ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova. They are accused of organizing the abductions of Ukrainian children taken to Russia from the occupied territories.