South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has confirmed that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin Will not attend the BRICS summit hosted by Johannesburg in late August.
The confirmation ends months of speculation triggered by an arrest warrant against the Kremlin leader for alleged war crimes in Ukraine.
Ramaphosa’s office said Putin would not attend the conference “by mutual agreement,” adding that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov would visit instead.
The other BRICS economic bloc members, Brazil, India, and China, are still anticipated to attend in person.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Putin and Russian official Maria Lvova-Belova in March about an alleged plot to relocate Ukrainian children to Russia during the horrific invasion.
Did you read this?
The country's commitment to detain Putin should he show up at the summit has been the subject of conflicting statements from South African MPs in the following months.
South Africa must detain anyone charged by the ICC since it is a signatory to the Rome law, the agreement establishing the Hague court.
The move by Ramaphosa's administration considerably undermines Moscow's efforts to rebuild its alliances with important allies, as Moscow has been more isolated since beginning its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Since the beginning of that crisis, South African MPs have been under fire from Western diplomats for what they consider to be their solidarity with Russia.
Although Johannesburg officials have long claimed to be impartial, they have consistently abstained from voting against Russia at the UN General Assembly.
