South Africa would have to arrest Putin if he attends BRICS summit

Russian media maintain that South Africa is expecting Putin to attend the BRICS summit in Durban this August, in person.

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The report notes this would create further diplomatic difficulties for Moscow, but even if the dictator chooses to come, “the prospect of the host nation's president, Cyril Ramaphosa, ordering his forces to lead Mr Putin away in handcuffs is thought to be a hugely remote one.”

In 2015, South Africa refused to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who was also under an ICC warrant.

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South Africa remains a party to the Rome Statute, despite attempts to withdraw from the agreement after the al-Bashir scandal.

On March 17, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian dictator Putin, over Russian war crimes committed in Ukraine.

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