By mutual agreement, the Russian president Vladimir Putin has agreed not to attend the BRICS summit in South Africa.
The South African presidency has announced on Wednesday that Russian president Vladimir Putin will not be attending the BRICS summit in South Africa which is scheduled for next month.
“By mutual agreement, President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation will not attend the summit but the Russian Federation will be represented by Foreign Minister Mr Sergey Lavrov,” the Presidency’s statement reads.
The Summit will be attended by the leaders of Brazil, India, China and South Africa.
The International Criminal Court issued a warrant of arrest for Putin for alleged war crimes in his invasion of Ukraine, and by law, South Africa would have had to arrest him if he entered the country.
Yesterday, the South African president Cyril Ramaphosa said arresting Putin would me declaring a war with Russia.