South African authorities are weighing all options to avoid complying with the ICC arrest warrant issued for Russian President Vladimir Putin, Bloomberg reports, citing two Foreign Ministry staffers.
They said that the likelihood of South Africa arresting any sitting head of state on visit to the country is extremely low.
Earlier today, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that no decision had been made about Putin attending the upcoming BRICS summit which will be hosted by South Africa in August.
On Wednesday, 22 March, reports emerged that South Africa was planning to contact Russia regarding next steps following the ICC arrest warrant for Putin. “South Africa is a member state of the International Criminal Court and so we will have to have a discussion in the context of cabinet to decide how we respond,” South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said.
The ICC headquartered in The Hague issued an arrest warrant against Putin on 17 March. The Russian leader is suspected of being involved in illegally deporting children from occupied regions of Ukraine to Russia.
