Arrest warrant for Putin a ‘spanner in the works’

Government said yesterday an international arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over the Ukraine war was a “spanner in the works” ahead of a Brics summit in the country in August.

SA, which has close ties with Moscow, has been faced with a diplomatic dilemma since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against Putin in March.

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The Russian president is due to attend the summit of Brics – a bloc which groups together Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. But SA, as host nation, is a member of the ICC and would be expected to make the arrest if Putin steps foot in the country.

“All heads of state would be expected to attend the summit. But now we have a spanner in the works in the form of this ICC warrant,” Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said yesterday.

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“What that dictates is that there be further engagements, in terms of how that is going to be managed and those engagements are underway. Once they’ve been concluded, the announcements will be made.”

The ICC warrant against Putin stems from accusations that Russia unlawfully deported Ukrainian children. SA has refused to condemn the invasion of Ukraine which has largely isolated Moscow on the international stage, saying it wants to stay neutral.

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