South Africa insists summit immunity will not override warrant for Putin
Brics meeting in Johannesburg in August likely to be attended by Russian president accused of war crimes by the International Criminal Court
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Brics meeting in Johannesburg in August likely to be attended by Russian president accused of war crimes by the International Criminal Court
Annual Brics meeting leaves Pretoria struggling to balance demands of international law and its controversial stance over Ukraine
It comes at a time when South Africa is under pressure to decide what it will do should Russian President Vladimir Putin visit the country for the BRICS summit in August, with an arrest warrant having been issued for him.
According to the department, this is a standard conferment of immunities that we do for all international conferences and summits held in South Africa, irrespective of the level of participation.
In preparation for the BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting and summit, the South African government has granted diplomatic immunity to all officials involved.