Russian President Vladimir Putin to ‘Zoom’ in for Brics summit in August?

South Africa’s embarrassing flip-flop on whether or not the country remains a signatory to the Rome Statute has created a diplomatic conundrum over its loyalty to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Sunday Times reports that government is discussing options with Russian counterparts to avoid a fallout with western international communities over Putin’s impending visit to our shores in August.

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BRICS summit to be held in South Africa in August

Putin is scheduled to attend the  BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit which will take place in Johannesburg in August.

In March this year, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Putin in relation to the abduction of Ukrainian children during the ongoing Russian invasion of that country.

While the conference is expected to take place in August, it’s understood the ICC is yet to approach South Africa to execute the arrest.

As a signatory to the Rome Statute, South Africa would be compelled to arrest the Russian leader, although at the height of government’s ICC flip-flopping, it stated that while SA remains a signatory, the country is concerned about “double standards” relating to the way in which leaders are indicted.

This week the Presidency confirmed South Africa would remain a signatory to the Rome Statute and “will continue to campaign for equal and consistent application of international law”.

ALSO READ: International Criminal Court: SA to remain signatory as Presidency concedes Cyril’s gaffe

Failure to arrest Omar al-Bashir

South Africa has in the past violated its agreement with the Rome Statute when it failed to arrest former Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir who was facing charges of genocide and crimes against humanity.

“Accordingly, South Africa will work to invigorate the Malabo protocol that would establish a continental criminal court that would complement the ICC as a court of last resort,” said the Presidency earlier this week.

Furthermore, South Africa is considering a legislative amendment that would domesticate the Rome statute so that it reflects all the articles of the Rome Statute. This includes provision of article 98 of the statute that requires a waiver of immunities for persons charged by the ICC from third party countries where there is no referral by the United Nations Security Council.

ALSO READ: Western Cape ready to arrest Vladimir Putin

Putin to attend virtually?

According to the Sunday paper, South Africa is “quietly” pushing for Putin to attend the conference virtually instead.

An unnamed official told the paper that Putin could not “come here and not be arrested. The only option we have is for him to connect via Teams or Zoom from Moscow.”

At the same time, President Cyril Ramaphosa has reportedly sent a delegation to Washington to clarify South Africa’s “non-aligned” stance on Russia’s violent and deadly invasion of Ukraine.

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The Washington envoy

The Washington envoys is meant to counter a push in the US for South Africa to be excluded from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) because of its stance on the war in Ukraine, and to explain its recent military exercises with Russia.

A controversial US bill titled: Countering Malign Russian Activities in Africa, is meant to punish African countries that don’t support Ukraine in its war with Russia.

However, insiders said the bill was no longer a concern as it had been rejected by both Republicans and Democrats.

Should South Africa be kicked out of the Agoa trade agreement, it would have devastating consequences for the already battling economy.