Putin will not go to South Africa for BRICS summit, Lavrov will represent Russian Federation
This was reported by the office of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Censor.NET reports.
"The leaders of Brazil, India, China, and South Africa will take part in the summit. By mutual agreement, the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, will not take part in the summit, but the Russian Federation will be represented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergei Lavrov," the message reads.
It will be recalled that the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin and the Russian Children's Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova in March for the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children.
The majority of countries on Earth – 123 – are parties to the treaty, and the ICC statute states that all participating states have a legal obligation to cooperate with the court, including executing arrest warrants.
The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, expressed hope that South Africa will comply with international law in relation to Putin.
However, the day before, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that Putin's arrest at the BRICS summit would lead to war with Russia.
