South Africa consults lawyers over Putin’s arrest warrant

The BRICS summit will be held in August this year in South Africa. And although the Kremlin has not yet decided whether Putin will go to him, the authorities of the Republic of South Africa are looking for ways to avoid the execution of the ICC warrant for the arrest of the Russian president.

How notes Bloomberg, previously the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic, Naledi Pandor, said that Putin was invited to the BRICS summit, although the ICC warrant “is some cause for concern.” According to the publication, South Africa sought legal advice in connection with the warrant. According to the publication’s sources in the Foreign Ministry, Putin’s arrest is unlikely and the government is considering options on how to avoid fulfilling the order.

The Republic of South Africa has ratified the fundamental documents relating to the ICC and has committed itself to comply with its decisions. However, in 2015, the republic refused to comply with the ICC order when Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir visited the country. At the time, in response to international criticism, then-South African leader Jacob Zuma even proposed withdrawing from the ICC, but this was never done.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmitry Kuleba believes that the Republic of South Africa, where Russian President Vladimir Putin is going to visit, will not be able to ignore the warrant for his arrest. He wrote on Instagram:

“It is clear that South Africa will not give up Putin on principle, because he is their political ally… They conducted joint exercises and the ship sailed there with the letter Z. But I don’t think that South Africa will be able to completely ignore the ICC warrant.”

Kuleba noted that if countries ignore the order of the International Criminal Court, this will ruin the institution itself, so the ICC is interested in its order being fulfilled.

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