BRICS: Putin will not attend summit in South Africa.

By Edwin -

The South African presidency has announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be attending the BRICS summit in South Africa next month. This is coming few weeks after some political figures in south Africa like Julius Malema came out authoritatively  telling the international community that Putin will be welcome to South Africa and no body was going to force South Africa to arrest him.

The decision not to attend the summit is related to a challenge faced by South Africa as a host country, being a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC had issued an arrest warrant for Putin in March, accusing Russia of war crimes during its invasion of Ukraine. If Putin had participated in the summit, South Africa would have been bound to execute the warrant and arrest him.

As a result, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will represent Putin at the summit scheduled to be held in Johannesburg from August 22 to 24, 2023.

The BRICS summit is an annual event that brings together leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa to discuss various economic and political matters especially trying to come out with a unique currency that can compete with the dollar at the international market and also to discuss how member countries can freely trade with each other.

Putin's absence from the summit is seen as a setback, indicating a distancing of allies due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Moreover, it suggests that the BRICS countries may not be unified in their support for Russia.

The repercussions of Putin's decision not to attend the summit on the relationship between the BRICS countries and Russia remain uncertain. However, the conflict in Ukraine is already causing notable disruptions in the global order, making the BRICS summit a crucial test of how these nations are handling the crisis.

 

 

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