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China-Africa relations
ChinaDiplomacy

South Africa faces diplomatic dilemma over Putin as BRICS summit looms

  • Pretoria has granted diplomatic immunity to leaders at the event, so Russian president might avoid arrest if he does attend in person
  • South Africa was reportedly planning to try to move the summit to China but it would be ‘logistically very challenging’, observer says

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The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over alleged war crimes in Ukraine. Photo: AP
Jevans Nyabiage
South Africa is in a tight diplomatic spot ahead of next month’s BRICS summit, which will give Russian President Vladimir Putin a rare stage to meet some of Moscow’s closest partners – if he attends in person.
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The country has granted diplomatic immunity to all leaders attending the event, so Putin might be able to avoid arrest if he does travel to Johannesburg for the August 22-24 summit. South Africa is a signatory to the International Criminal Court, which issued an arrest warrant for Putin in March over alleged war crimes committed in Ukraine.

South Africa is this year’s chair of the BRICS group of leading emerging economies that also includes Brazil, Russia, India and China.

Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping at a summit in Uzbekistan in September. Photo: AP
Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping at a summit in Uzbekistan in September. Photo: AP
President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday said the summit would not be virtual but did not confirm whether Putin – who has been invited to the event – would attend in person.

Pretoria was reportedly planning to try to move the summit to China, which is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, the ICC’s founding document. But in a phone call with Ramaphosa last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that “China supports South Africa, as the rotating chair, in successfully hosting various BRICS cooperation activities this year”.

South Africa – like China – has refused to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but has called for dialogue.

Moving the summit to China would be “logistically very challenging” at this stage, according to Paul Nantulya, a research associate at the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies at Washington’s National Defence University.

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