South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Wednesday that his country would not withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) before hosting Russian President Vladimir Putin for the BRICS summit, reversing his position just a day earlier, Reuters reported.
“The ruling party has decided that it is prudent for South Africa to withdraw from the ICC,” Ramaphosa told a news conference on Tuesday after a meeting of the African National Congress (ANC), South Africa’s ruling party, over the weekend.
Ramaphosa said the ANC’s decision to withdraw from the international court was made “largely” because of what he sees as unfair treatment of some countries.
“We would like this issue of unfair treatment to be properly discussed, but in the meantime the ruling party has once again decided that an exit is needed,” Ramaphosa said.
“Putin can come to this country at any time,” ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula assured Ramaphosa at a press conference on Tuesday. “The CPI does not serve the interests of all but a few,” he declared.
What South Africa declares before the summit, which will be attended by Vladimir Putin
On Wednesday, Ramaphosa said through his office that he had made a mistake.
“The Republic of South Africa remains a member of the ICC in accordance with the resolution adopted at the 55th National Conference of the ANC, held in December 2022, to revoke the previous decision to withdraw from the ICC,” the press statement said.
“The December resolution was confirmed at the meeting of the National Executive Committee of the ANC during the weekend of April 21-24, 2023,” he explained.
In March, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin, accusing him of deporting children from Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories, which is considered a war crime under international law.
Moscow vehemently rejects any suggestion that Russia is guilty of war crimes or crimes against humanity and says the ICC has no authority over it because it is not a member state of the international institution.
What drives the president of Russia to Africa
Putin is expected to visit South Africa in August for a summit of the emerging BRICS group of countries, along with the heads of state of Brazil, India, China and the host country.
As a member of the ICC, South Africa should have detained the Russian president, but South African officials have not dared to comment on the matter or rejected the move. Putin has not yet left Russia after the ICC issued a warrant for his arrest.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Putin has made only one foreign visit to a country that is not a former Soviet state, visiting Iran last July.
Responding on Monday to a question about Putin’s participation in the upcoming BRICS summit, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that “the relevant decision will be made closer to the date of the event.”
“But in any case, Russia will take an active part (in the conference),” he assured, stressing that BRICS is “a very important association.”
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Source: Hot News
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