BRICS Summit: Putin cancels South Africa trip amid fears of getting arrested in Johannesburg
As a signatory to the treaty establishing the International Criminal Court, South Africa is obliged to arrest Putin on an indictment the court issued against the Russian leader in March for war crimes involving the abduction of children from Ukraine.
A day after South African President Cyril Ramaphosa "urged" his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to not attend the upcoming BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, it is now clear that he would not attend the mega event and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will fill his shoes.
Earlier in March this year, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for the Russian president because of his actions in Ukraine. This was followed after a report from a United Nations-backed inquiry asserted that Russian attacks against civilians in Ukraine, including systematic torture and killing in occupied regions, amount to war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity.
Putin's war crimes
The sweeping human rights report, released a year to the day after a Russian airstrike on a theatre in Mariupol killed hundreds sheltering inside, marked a highly unusual condemnation of a member of the UN Security Council. However, Moscow on multiple occasions denied charges that its forces have been committing war crimes in the war embattled nation for more than a year.
Earlier last week, Russian officials told The Moscow Times that Putin’s attendance remained uncertain and hinted Lavrov might attend the Summit.
South Africa is obliged to arrest Putin
As a signatory to the treaty establishing the International Criminal Court, South Africa is obliged to arrest Putin on an indictment the court issued against the Russian leader in March for war crimes involving the abduction of children from Ukraine. South African authorities are likely to breach the treaty and not arrest Putin, but some opposition parties, rights groups and legal activists have said he should be arrested and have threatened to do it themselves, raising security issues for the BRICS summit in Johannesburg.
Having already decided not to condemn Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, South Africa faces the prospect of further straining relations with the West if it allows Putin to freely attend the summit of the BRICS emerging economies bloc of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
Putin hasn’t yet travelled to a country that is a signatory to the court treaty since the arrest warrant against him was issued.
Also Read: Arresting Putin would be 'declaration of war': South African President Cyril Ramaphosa