Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the BRICS summit in South Africa, as announced by the administration of the South African president. The Russian delegation will be led by Foreign Minister of Russia Sergey Lavrov. The decision for Putin not to travel to South Africa was made "by mutual agreement" with the Russian side.
South Africa has ratified the Rome Statute, which legally obliges them to arrest Putin based on the International Criminal Court's order and extradite him to The Hague. In response to the opposition's demand to fulfill their obligations towards the ICC, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa stated that Russia warned that arresting Putin would be seen as an act of war.
Presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov clarified that Russia did not issue any threats to the South African authorities regarding the possible arrest of the Russian President during his participation in the BRICS summit. However, Russia did warn of potential consequences.
Later, Peskov announced that Putin decided to participate in the BRICS summit through video conferencing. Meanwhile, Lavrov will travel to South Africa and attend the summit in person.
The BRICS summit in South Africa is scheduled to take place in August. South African authorities had previously suggested that the Russian delegation be led by Sergey Lavrov instead of Vladimir Putin, but their proposal was declined.
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