South Africa says Vladimir Putin will not attend upcoming BRICS summit

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Vladimir Putin will skip next month’s BRICS heads of state summit in South Africa, ending a headache for Cyril Ramaphosa’s government, which faces a legal obligation to arrest him over an International Criminal Court indictment.

“By mutual consent, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin will not attend the summit, but the Russian Federation will be represented by Foreign Minister, Mr. Sergei Lavrov,” the South African presidential office said on Wednesday.

South Africa was intensifying efforts to prevent Putin from accepting an invitation extended by Pretoria before the ICC issued a warrant for Putin’s arrest on war crime charges in March.

Ramaphosa also claimed in court papers released this week that South Africa was risking war with Russia if it tried to execute the warrant on Putin when Putin arrived in Johannesburg for the August summit.

This is a developing story