The South African presidency has confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the upcoming BRICS summit in person, scheduled to be held in the country next month. Instead, he will be represented by Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov. The decision, officially announced on Wednesday, July 19, was mutually agreed upon by both nations.

According to Dmitry Peskov, the spokesperson for the Russian President, Putin will actively participate in the summit through a video conference, marking his full-fledged involvement in the event.

This carries significant implications for South Africa, as it means the country can avoid executing an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant issued for Putin due to alleged war crimes during the invasion of Ukraine. As a member of the ICC, South Africa would theoretically be obligated to arrest the Russian leader if he were to set foot in the country.

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa had been grappling with this delicate situation. Just yesterday (July 18), he addressed concerns raised by the Democratic Alliance, South Africa's main Opposition party, regarding the potential arrest of Putin.

The Opposition party took the matter to the country's high court, seeking to compel the government to honour the ICC warrant against Putin. As a signatory to the Rome Statute that established the ICC, South Africa is legally bound by its decisions.

However, President Cyril Ramaphosa had voiced concerns about issuing a court order to arrest Putin, stating that it would be premature and almost equivalent to declaring war.

Ramaphosa argued that until Putin arrived in the country, there was no obligation to pronounce on the matter. “Any obligation to arrest has not arisen,” Ramaphosa said. “It would potentially arise if President Putin were to come to South Africa.”

The South African government was exploring alternative solutions, such as hosting the summit virtually or relocating it to China. However, these options were vetoed by other BRICS members, leaving South Africa in a difficult position.

Given Russia's insistence on Putin leading the delegation, South Africa faced the risk of triggering conflict and compromising an African leaders' initiative to broker peace in Ukraine. The ICC itself expressed concern over Russia's nuclear threat following the arrest warrant, adding to the complexity of the situation.

“Russia has made it clear that the arrest of President Putin would be a declaration of war against Russia,” he said. “The ICC itself has expressed concern over Russia’s nuclear threat, following the arrest warrant. South Africa has no capacity to declare or wage war with Russia. Nor does it wish to.”

This is not the first time South Africa has faced such a dilemma. In 2015, the country refused to execute an ICC arrest warrant for then-Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, leading to international criticism.

Al-Bashir had been indicted for war crimes and genocide, yet he was allowed to attend a meeting of African leaders in Johannesburg. The South African Supreme Court of Appeals ruled that the government's actions were unlawful, and the ICC asserted that South Africa had failed to comply with its international obligations.

The BRICS summit will be attended by the leaders of Brazil, India, China, and South Africa, while Russia will be represented by Lavrov in place of President Vladimir Putin.

With inputs from Bloomberg

(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)