Russian President Vladimir Putin is the only BRICS leader not attending the Summit in person.
International travelling is an uphill battle for the Russian president. The International Criminal Court wants him for war crimes in Ukraine.
South Africa was in a diplomatic pickle over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attendance at the 15 BRICS Summit.
As a signatory to the Rome Statute, the host nation would have been compelled to arrest a sitting president wanted for war crimes in Ukraine.
ALSO READ: South Africa confirms Putin won’t attend BRICS summit in person
But this is not the first time South Africa was expected to arrest a visiting country leader. In 2016, the country failed to arrest former Sudanese President Omar-al-Bashir, who was also wanted for war crimes in his home country.
al-Bashir was granted diplomatic immunity and left the country a free man.
This time, South Africa’s largest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, sought court backing to honour its ICC’s obligations.
Proceedings were halted after the Presidency confirmed the Kremlin leader would not attend in person.
“By mutual agreement, President Putin of the Russian Federation will not attend the Summit. However, Russia will be represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov,” said South African Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya.
ALSO READ: Russia-Africa summit punts visa-free travel, but ailing aviation parastatals threaten the end goal
South Africa has, in the past, voiced concerns about perceived double standards by the ICC.
The country says while it would respect the Rome Statute – it needed to exercise independence regarding certain aspects of the law.
Moscow has dismissed the ICC’s accusations as politically motivated, baseless, and coming from a Western-compromised entity.
