Russia refuses to replace Putin with Lavrov at BRICS summit – Kommersant

South African Vice President Paul Mashatile told the newspaper Mail&Guardianthat Russia rejected the request of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa that the country be represented at the BRICS summit instead of Vladimir Putin by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Mr. Mashatile noted that negotiations on this issue are still underway. He added that India and Brazil rejected the option of moving the summit to China.

On July 11, press secretary Dmitry Peskov, in response to a question whether Vladimir Putin was ready to attend the summit in person, replied that the president had not yet decided on the format of participation in the BRICS summit scheduled for August.

The BRICS summit is to be held at the Sandton Convention Center in Johannesburg from 22 to 24 August. South Africa, a signatory to the Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court (ICC), will be required to arrest Vladimir Putin if he arrives on the territory of the state. “We understand that we are bound by the Rome Statute, but we cannot invite someone and then arrest them. You can understand our dilemma. We would be happy if he did not come,” said Mr. Mashatile (quoted from Bloomberg).

In March, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Russian Federation. According to the court, they are “allegedly responsible for war crimes related to the illegal deportation of the population (children)” from Ukraine.

Polina Motyzlevskaya