SA Considers Venue Change for BRICS Summit As Vladimir Putin’s ICC Arrest Warrant Continues to Create Hurdles

• The South African government is trying to find solutions for the upcoming Brics summit and Vladimir Putin's ICC arrest warrant
• The government is allegedly mulling over either moving the summit to China or Mozambique to avoid having to arrest Putin
• As things stand, the move has not been finalised, and Dirco is still planning to hold the summit in Gauteng

PRETORIA - The South African government is making contingency plans for the annual Brics summit, which is meant to be held in the country in August.

The government is considering moving the summit to a different country as it is failing to find a way around the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

According to Mail & Guardian, SA's justice ministry confirmed that it had received the arrest warrant and said SA would be obligated to act on it if Putin came to the country.

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Government considers China and Mozambique as alternate countries for Brics summit

The government is reportedly considering asking China to host the meeting of the Brics heads of state and has also set its sights on neighbouring Mozambique.

News24 reported that people close to the matter who wished to remain unnamed said neither China nor Mozambique are signatories to the Rome Statute and would be obligated to arrest Putin.

However, the move has not been finalised, as the Department of International Relations Spokesperson Lunga Ngqengelele said for now, the summit will be held in the Gauteng province.

South Africans divided by SA's plan to change venue of Brics summit

Below are some comments:

@hannahwoolaver said:

"This would make a lot of sense - South Africa and Brazil are the only BRICS members that are also ICC member states."

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@SashtonSean questioned:

"If this is for real, it is disgraceful. What are we playing at here? Where is the upside for SA in all of this?"

@JonGericke claimed:

"The pressure is starting to work, I see."

@PietStassen criticised:

"I see ... the spineless dumping the hot potato of the moral responsibility to arrest in another country's lap. How courteous and considerate."

@CrozierMark added:

"Good sense at last... Take it somewhere else! We don't want war criminals here, we've had enough of them already."

Da launches legal bid to compel govt to arrest Putin, sparking debate in SA: “The DA is being used as pawns”

In another story, Briefly News reported that the Democratic Alliance has followed through on its promise to compel the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin by launching an application in the Johannesburg High Court.

The official opposition party is requesting a declaration that if Putin sets foot in South Africa to attend the Brics summit in August, the government must detain and surrender him to the International Criminal Court (ICC), IOL reported.

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The move has divided many South Africans and sparked a heated debate online.

Source: Briefly News