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South African authorities warned that they would be compelled to detain the president after a warrant for his arrest issued in March by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was warned he could be arrested if he attends a BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) summit in South Africa in August.
Authorities in the country warned that they would be compelled to detain the president after a warrant for his arrest issued in March by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
South Africa's Sunday Times newspaper, citing sources in the country's government, said that a special government commission established by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to look into the international arrest warrant concluded that the country would have no choice but to arrest Putin if he traveled to South Africa for the summit.
"We have no option not to arrest Putin," a government official told The Sunday Times. "If he comes here, we will be forced to detain him."
Putin was expected to travel to the summit, although the Kremlin had not confirmed his attendance, to meet with the leaders of BRICs.
The newspaper reported that officials were trying to find a way around the diplomatic dilemma, with Putin's "virtual" attendance via videolink being mooted as a possible workaround.
The paper's sources said that "the only option we have is for [Putin] to participate in the summit via Teams or Zoom from Moscow."
— Holly Ellyatt
Source: CNBC
