President Vladimir Putin will not attend an upcoming summit in South Africa. This decision comes in response to South Africa’s leader stating that any attempt to arrest Putin would be considered a declaration of war against Russia.
If Putin were to leave Russian territory, he would be subject to an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant. As a signatory to the ICC, South Africa would be expected to assist in his arrest.
Instead, Russia will be represented by its Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, at the two-day summit. However, Putin will participate in the Brics conference, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, through a video link.
The Brics conference is often viewed as an alternative to the G7 group of advanced economies.
In a statement, South Africa’s presidency described the agreement for Mr Putin not to attend as “mutual” and said it had come about following a “number of consultations” on the summit.
The decision by South Africa not to arrest Vladimir Putin has faced criticism from supporters of Russia, who argue that the country should have asserted its sovereignty and defended its friendship with Russia. The invitation extended to Putin prior to the ICC’s accusations of war crimes in Ukraine has sparked controversy both domestically and internationally.
This move was seen by some as a departure from South Africa’s traditionally neutral stance, aligned with other African nations, in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. However, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government faced increasing pressure to arrest Putin, leading to a sense of urgency.
The Democratic Alliance, the main opposition party in South Africa, took the matter to court in an attempt to compel the authorities to arrest Putin if he visited the country. International human rights organization Amnesty International also joined the legal challenge.
Court documents revealed that President Ramaphosa opposed the arrest, citing national security concerns as the primary reason for his stance.
“Russia has made it clear that arresting its sitting president would be a declaration of war. It would be inconsistent with our constitution to risk engaging in war with Russia,” he said in an affidavit.
Mr Peskov denied Moscow had told South Africa that arresting its president would mean an act of war, but said it was “clear to everyone what [that kind of] infringement against the head of the Russian state would mean”.
Russia has consistently described the ICC arrest warrant as outrageous and legally void, because the country is not a member of the organisation.
The African continent remains split over the war between Russia and Ukraine, with some countries showing reluctance to back United Nations’ resolutions condemning Russia for its actions in Ukraine.
The reasons for this vary from country to country, but experts say one factor is the economic ties that some, including South Africa, have with Moscow.
A sanctioned Russian oligarch, Viktor Vekselberg, is said to be one of the biggest donors to South Africa’s governing party, the African National Congress (ANC).