Russian President Vladimir Putin and China's President Xi Jinping shake hands during a signing ceremony following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21, 2023. (Photo by Vladimir ASTAPKOVICH / SPUTNIK / AFP)
Russian Vladimir Putin is reportedly digging his heels in and insisting on travelling to South Africa for the [Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa] Brics summit in August, leaving Pretoria in a puzzle.
The Sunday Times is reporting that Putin did not want to be seen to be isolated and giving in to the pressure of the West as this would make him appear weak.
He is reportedly insisting that he wants to come to the summit and his people are preparing for him to come to SA.
“Russia is pushing its national interests, and it is in their interest to appear strong and among friends. But South Africa can’t be used as a battleground for proxy wars so it has to look after its national interest,” the government official told Sunday Times.
In March, the International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued against Putin for war crimes in Ukraine (ICC) issued a warrant of arrest for Putin for war crimes in Ukraine.
ALSO READ: Brics: Untangling the Putin mess
As a signatory to the Rome Statute, SA is obliged to arrest him when arrives in SA but Pretoria’s non-aligned position in the Russia-Ukraine war has placed SA on a tricky situation since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year.
This in the wake of reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa is mulling options to avoid the obligation to arrest Putin, including moving the summit to Beijing in China.
Sources told Sunday Times that Ramaphosa held talks with his Chinese counterpart President Xi Jinping, fuelling speculation that SA was considering an alternative venue for the summit.
The publication reported that this as senior government officials reveal that indications were that Putin would disagree with any option excluding him from attending the summit to be held in SA in August.
ALSO READ: Ramaphosa briefs Xi Jinping on African leaders’ peace mission to Ukraine, Russia
According to the publication when Ramaphosa met his ministers on Wednesday he was given three options; to ask Putin to be represented by his foreign affairs ministers at the summit; for him to participate virtually or asking Beijing to take over as host.
Last week minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said government had no plans yet to move the Brics summit to another country.
Briefing the media on the outcomes of a Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday, Ntshavheni however said this could change depending on the outcomes of an inter-ministerial committee set up by Ramaphosa to investigate the matter.
NOW READ: Govt has no plans ‘yet’ to move Brics summit to another country – Ntshavheni
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