May be forced to arrest Putin at the meeting: "Dilemma"

 

Vladimir Putin 

  

South Africa's dilemma: Putin wants to go there - but the country has to arrest him  

 

Petter J Larsson  

 

Published 2023-07-15 22:19 

 

News  

 

Vladimir Putin wants a meeting in South Africa - where the authorities must arrest him.  

 

Now the country's leadership is trying to persuade him to stay home. 

 

- The best solution is that he does not come, says South Africa's vice president Paul Mashatile.  

 

The leaders of Brics. Photo: Mike Hutchings/AP  

Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to go to the BRICS summit in South Africa in August. But the host nation is desperately trying to get him to stay home. The reason is that there is an international arrest warrant for Putin, who is suspected of war crimes. This means that South Africa would be forced to arrest the Russian president as soon as he stepped off his plane.  

 

- It is a big dilemma for us, says South Africa's vice president Paul Mashatile to the South African news site News24. 

 

- Of course we can't arrest him. It's almost like you invite your friend over to your home and then you sneak in. Therefore, the best solution for us is that he does not come. 

 

 Mashatile adds: 

 

- But the Russians are not happy. They want him to go. 

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: Sergei Savostyanov / AP 

 

Not condemning the invasion  

 

It was the International Criminal Court ICC that issued the arrest warrant against Putin, because he is suspected of having brought Ukrainian children to Russia. Since South Africa has signed the so-called Rome Statute, the country is bound to carry out arrests according to the ICC's order, AP writes. The country would become the first Rome Statute country visited by Putin after the arrest warrant was issued.  

 

South Africa already has a strained relationship with the West after the country decided not to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine.  

 

The president's last hope  

 

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa initially tasked Mashatile with trying to resolve the situation. Among other things, he suggested moving the meeting to China, holding it online or that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov should come in Putin's place. But Russia refused all proposals.  

 

Now Ramaphosa himself is trying to persuade Putin to stay home.  

 

- We have now decided to leave this with the president, who is talking to Putin, Mashatile told News24.  

- The president is going to the Russian-African summit later this month, so they will continue to talk. We want to show him the challenges we face because we are part of the Rome Statute and we cannot pry our way out of this.  

 

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Fhoto: Grigory Sysoyev