Calay News
Putin’s potential visit to South Africa had become a matter of contention due to international justice agreements with the International Criminal Court (ICC) that the African country recognizes. However, this Wednesday, all speculation about this controversy was settled. The South African presidency confirmed that the Russian president will not attend the summit of the five great emerging BRICS powers (South Africa, Brazil, China, India, and Russia).
To ensure Russia’s presence at this meeting, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will attend on Putin’s behalf, according to what was stated in a statement by Vincent Magwenya, spokesman for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Although South Africa currently holds the BRICS presidency and Putin was officially invited to the group’s heads of state summit scheduled for August 22–24 in Johannesburg, the South African government faced strong internal and external pressure to avoid hosting the Russian leader.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov warned of the clear consequences that could arise from Putin’s possible arrest during his visit to South Africa.
While South Africa claims to maintain a neutral stance on the war in Ukraine, it has been accused of leaning towards Moscow on a few occasions.
With this decision to send the foreign minister instead of receiving Putin, South Africa seeks to deal with the tensions and pressures related to the presence of the Russian president at the BRICS summit.
