Putin will not attend BRICS summit, Presidency confirms
President Cyril Ramaphosa has confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the BRICS summit in August.
In August, South Africa will host the 15th Summit of BRICS nations – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
Ramaphosa has been under immense pressure to decide on Putin's attendance after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for Putin’s arrest.
He has been accused of human rights violations in the war in Ukraine.
South Africa, as a signatory to the Rome Statute and a member of the ICC, would have to oblige and arrest Putin should he arrive in the country.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has already launched an application in the Gauteng High Court requesting a declaratory order that if Putin arrives in South Africa to attend the summit, the South African government must immediately detain and surrender him to the ICC.
The matter was set to be heard in the High Court in Pretoria on Friday.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said a mutual agreement was reached that Russia will be represented by its Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
"President Ramaphosa is confident that the summit will be a success and calls on the nation to extend the necessary hospitality to the many delegates who will arrive from various parts of the continent and the globe," said Magwenya.
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