South Africa to dodge calls to arrest Putin by postponing summit

Putin speaks with Cyril Ramaphosa during the 2019 Russia-Africa Summit. Photo: Sergey Chirikov/AP. urges Pretoria to move the upcoming BRICS summit to China so that the country can avoid the dilemma of whether to arrest Vladimir Putin for war crimes, understands The Telegraph.

Leading African National Congress (ANC) politicians want President Cyril Ramaphos not to host the Russian leader over fears that the country's stance on the war in Ukraine is hurting its economy.

On Monday, the government said it was granting diplomatic immunity to those present, but denied it was deliberately covering for Putin, who faces a warrant arrest by the International Criminal Court.

Pressure mounted after the opposition Democratic Alliance party initiated a lawsuit. action to force South Africa to act on the warrant if he sets foot in the country.

Cyril Ramaphosa, Nelson Mandela's chosen successor

South Africa's refusal to condemn Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and its war games with China and Russia has long irritated the West. Tensions soared earlier this month when the US ambassador accused South Africa of supplying arms to Russia last year.

The leaders of the BRICS bloc (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) are due to meet in South Africa in August at a summit that Pretoria considers the cornerstone of its foreign policy. But with the arrival of Putin, the country will face a choice: respect international law and arrest the leader of a powerful nuclear ally, or become a pariah among its Western trading partners.

South Africa's central bank warned this week that any row with the US could hurt the country's financial sector.

A senior government insider told The Telegraph: «We hope the president will heed all these concerns and move closer to China.

“We are suffering from this whole Russian affair. This worries many people, including those in high government positions.”

Pretoria says it remains neutral in the war in Ukraine and refuses to succumb to pressure from Europe or America. Many members of the ANC old guard also declare their solidarity with Moscow, as the USSR supported their fight against apartheid.

The country has repeatedly hosted top Kremlin diplomat Sergei Lavrov, and later this year he is again expected in Cape Town. week.

But Western diplomats are increasingly concerned that some members of the government are leaning heavily towards Moscow. Earlier this month, U.S. Ambassador Reuben Brighetti said a sanctioned Russian cargo ship had taken a shipment of weapons from South Africa in December.

The rand fell days after the announcement despite denials from South Africa . Mr. Ramaphosa launched a legal investigation into the allegations.

The previous BRICS summit last June was held virtually in China, meaning that Mr. Ramaphosa did not attend in person. Pretoria is also believed to be investigating whether Putin will be able to attend remotely in August without confrontation.

Moscow has already said it will view any attempt to arrest Putin on foreign soil as an act of war.

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John Steenhuizen, leader of the Democratic Alliance, is seeking a court ruling that the government will break the law if it does not arrest Putin.

His petition to the court claims that the country is «debt owed in accordance with with the Rome Statute and the Act of Implementation to arrest President Putin upon his arrival in South Africa.”