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Putin to skip BRICS in South Africa summit due to arrest threat

By AFP

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Posted on July 19, 2023 13:04

© File photo of Russian President Vladimir Putin greeting South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in Sochi, Russia, in 2019. (Photo by Sergei CHIRIKOV/AFP) — File photo of Russian President Vladimir Putin greeting South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in Sochi, Russia, in 2019. (Photo by Sergei CHIRIKOV/AFP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend a BRICS nations summit in South Africa next month, the country’s presidency said on Wednesday, ending months of speculation he could be detained.

Putin’s potential visit has been a thorny diplomatic issue for Pretoria.

The Russian leader is the target of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant — a provision that South africa as an ICC member would be expected to implement were he to set foot in the country.

“By mutual agreement, President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation will not attend the summit,” Vincent Magwenya, a spokesman for President Cyril Ramaphosa, said in a statement.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will instead represent Russia, Magwenya said.

The decision follows “a number of consultations” held by Ramaphosa in recent months, the most recent of which took place last night, he added.

South Africa is the current chair of the BRICS group, a gathering of heavyweights that also includes Brazil, Russia, India and China, and which sees itself as a counterweight to Western economic domination.

Putin was

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