South African President Cyril Ramaphosa warned today that a possible arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin during the summit of emerging economies known as BRICS in August would be a “declaration of war”.
“Russia has made it clear that detaining its incumbent President would be a declaration of war; it would be contrary to our Constitution to risk going to war with Russia”, said Ramaphosa in a statement that until now was confidential and was made public today, against the will of the head of state, by order of a court in Gauteng, in the north. from the country.
Assuming the risk of war with Russia would be “a reckless, unconstitutional and illegal exercise in the face of the powers conferred on the Government”, Ramaphosa also said, adding: “I have constitutional obligations to protect national sovereignty, the peace and security of the Republic and to respect, protect, promote and satisfy the rights to life, security and protection of the people of the Republic”.
According to local media, quoted by the EFE news agency, this was the presidential response to a request made to the court by the Democratic Alliance (AD), the main opposition party in South Africa, to obtain a court order. to guarantee Putin’s arrest if the Russian head of state actually participates in the BRICS (Brazil, China, Russia, India and South Africa) summit, scheduled for August in South Africa.
The largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa and a traditional ally of Russia is in a quandary regarding Putin’s departure, since, on the one hand, an international arrest warrant hangs over him for crimes against humanity following the invasion of Ukraine, but on the other on the other hand is a guest from the country hosting the summit.
South Africa, a country that is a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), will host the summit between August 22 and 24 in Johannesburg, but is obliged to collaborate with Putin’s arrest, but Pretoria had not yet revealed , so far, how will Putin actually land in the country.
At the end of May, the South African Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued an order granting diplomatic immunity to all Russians attending the summit, thus paving the way for Putin’s departure.
However, the ministry spokesman admitted that “these immunities do not override any court order issued by an international court on any participant in the summit”.
South Africa has adopted a neutral stance on Russia’s war against Ukraine, and has advocated dialogue and diplomacy as a means to resolve the conflict.
This position is not only linked to the strategic, political and economic role that Moscow has in some African countries, but also to historical reasons such as Russian support for anti-colonialist and liberation movements in the 20th century, such as the struggle against the apartheid segregationist regime.
Brazil, Russia, India and China created the acronym BRIC in 2006, which South Africa joined in 2010, thus forming the BRICS as a symbol of emerging economies that were, at the time, growing above the world average, but which have since lost their luster.
