The Presidency of South Africa announced on Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the BRICS summit, based on an agreement between the parties, but he will participate via video. The presidency stated in a communiqué that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will represent Russia at the summit instead of the president.
The Kremlin noted on Wednesday that Russia had not informed South Africa that the arrest of President Vladimir Putin, based on an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant, would mean "a declaration of war." Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that everyone understands, without needing clarification, what attempting to infringe upon Putin's rights means.
A document published by a local court in South Africa on Tuesday showed that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa requested the ICC to exempt his country from arresting Putin, as doing so could amount to a declaration of war. South Africa is set to host a summit for BRICS countries next month, which is expected to see the attendance of all the heads of state from the member countries, including Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
