Kuleba believes that Putin will refrain from going to BRICS summit in South Africa
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not go to the BRICS summit in the Republic of South Africa because of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
"I think he won't go. Because South Africa has shown everyone that one can play in politics and love for Putin. This is when their leadership said that they would leave the ICC, but the next day it became clear what they were capable of - when other people came out the next day and said: ‘we are staying in the ICC.’ And on the third day they said they would connect Putin online so as not to arrest him," he said on the air of Snidanok with 1 + 1.
According to him, this is a clear signal to the 123 countries participating in the Rome Statute "not to play." "South Africa is one of Putin's closest friends, now they have shown that even they are not able to renounce their obligations," the minister said.
As earlier reported, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party demands the country's withdrawal from the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. “Yes, the governing party … has taken that decision that it is prudent that South Africa should pull out of the ICC," Ramaphosa said.
Later, in a message published on the website of the President of South Africa, it was stated that South Africa remains a party to the International Criminal Court as a signatory to the Rome Statute and will continue to campaign for equal and consistent application of international law.
The BRICS summit will be held in the South African province of Gauteng in August.