President Cyril Ramaphosa has confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be attending the 15th BRICS Summit in South Africa.
The Russian Federation will instead be represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
The Presidency said the decision was made by “mutual agreement”.
The 15th BRICS Summit will be held at the Sandton Convention Centre in Sandton, Joburg, from August 22-24. It will be the first BRICS Summit to be hosted in person since the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent global restrictions.
“President Ramaphosa has in recent months and weeks held a number of consultations on the hosting of the Summit. The President’s most recent consultation in this regard took place last night, Tuesday, at the BRICS Political Party Dialogue in Gauteng,” the presidency said.
“By mutual agreement, President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation will not attend the Summit but the Russian Federation will be represented by Foreign Minister, Mr Sergey Lavrov.”
The International Criminal Court, of which South Africa is a full member, has issued a warrant of arrest against Putin and urged 123 countries who are signatories to the Rome Statute to arrest him for alleged war crimes related to the abduction of children from Ukraine.
In due course, a comprehensive statement on the issues to be covered at the BRICS Summit and other related foreign policy matters will be issued, the Presidency said.
“President Ramaphosa is confident that the Summit will be a success and calls on the nation to extend the necessary hospitality to the many delegates who will arrive from various parts of the continent and the globe.”
Cape Times