Reuters: BRICS summit could be moved from South Africa to China due to ICC arrest warrant on Putin

The BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) summit planned to take place in South Africa in August could be moved to China due to the arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin issued by the Hague International Criminal Court (ICC), Reuters reports, citing sources.

“One option gaining traction among South African officials would be to ask BRICS’ previous chair China to host the summit,” a senior government official told Reuters.

According to South Africa’s Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor, the final decision has not yet been made. He added that there would soon be a minister meeting to mull over the options.

On 25 May, former South African President Thabo Mbeki said in an interview to radio station 702 that the summit would probably not be taking place in South Africa. “Because of our legal obligations, we have to arrest President Putin, but we can’t do that,” he explained.

On 25 January, South Africa invited Putin to the meeting of BRICS leaders. It is planned to take place in Johannesburg on 22-24 August.

On 30 May, South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Obed Bapela told BBC that the government was planning to pass legislation that would let the South African authorities decide whether they need to arrest the leaders wanted by the ICC.

According to the Russian president’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov, Russia will take part in the BRICS summit “at a proper level”.

On 30 May, it was reported that the South African government would grant diplomatic immunity to participants of two BRICS meetings, including Putin. Later on, the authorities posted a statement explaining that the immunity does not apply to the ICC warrant situation.

In early May, The Sunday Times reported that Pretoria asked Putin not to travel to South Africa to attend the BRICS summit. According to the newspaper, the government asked the Russian leader to participate via Zoom.

“We have no option not to arrest Putin. If he comes here, we will be forced to detain him,” one of the sources told The Sunday Times.

The ICC issued the arrest warrant against Putin on 17 March. The Russian president is suspected of being involved in the illegal transfer of children from Ukraine’s occupied regions into Russia.

Following the decision, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that the ANC, the country’s ruling party, decided to withdraw from the ICC. His office, however, described his words as an “error” the next day.

The official statement reads that South Africa remains a signatory to the Rome Statute and will continue to pursue equal and consistent application of international law.