South Africa may be forced to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin if he attends the BRICS summit this year. Moreover, previous reports indicated that Putin was set to attend the annual BRICS event via video conference due to his potential apprehension if he were to arrive in person.
Now, local authorities have reported that South Africa would arrest Putin if he did attend the event. Moreover, government officials stated they would have “no option” if he were to arrive. Conversely, Putin has been invited to the event digitally.
Putin Could be Arrest at the 2023 BRICS Summit
Amidst what has been a positive few months for the bloc, their annual summit is set to take place this summer. Conversely, there is some controversy arising regarding the appearance of one BRICS nation’s president in particular.
Specifically, there is concern about whether or not South Africa will be forced to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin if he attends the BRICS summit this year. Subsequently, Yahoo reported local government officials’ statements that they may have no choice.
“We have no option not to arrest Putin,” the official stated. “If he comes here, we will have to arrest him.” Moreover, the development comes following South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s appointment of a special government committee. That committee would seek to study Putin’s international arrest warrant as they considered withdrawal from the ICC.
The reports stated that the committee was unable to find “any options” to allow Putin’s attendance. Additionally, they noted that the video conference remains “the only option” for his presence at the summit. Currently, there is no statement on whether or not Putin plans on attending the event, virtually or otherwise.