Johannesburg - President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on South Africans to wait on him to make a final determination over the Putin-BRICS summit dilemma.
Ramaphosa said he would make an announcement in due course on whether or not Russian President Vladimir Putin would be attending the BRICS summit later this year.
Ramaphosa’s assertions come amid calls for the government to arrest the Russian president should he make an appearance at the much-awaited summit set for Durban in August.
This week, the DA-run City of Tshwane put up a billboard calling for the arrest of the Russian leader.
In March, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant of arrest against Putin over allegations of war crimes committed in Ukraine. Putin is among the BRICS leaders expected to attend the summit. Leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, and China will meet for the 15th BRICS Summit, set for August 22 to 24.
The South African government has been under pressure to find a solution to the dilemma brought on by the ICC’s warrant of arrest. Calls have been mounting as South Africa is a signatory to the Rome Statute and a member of the ICC, and must abide by the rules of the statute.
On Tuesday, Ramaphosa told the media that he would make his decision after receiving a report from the inter-ministerial committee dealing with the matter.
Ramaphosa said the committee met on Monday under the leadership of Deputy President Paul Mashatile. This committee is expected to hand over a report that will be instrumental in Ramaphosa’s final decision on Putin and the BRICS summit.
Ramaphosa also confirmed that he was aware of the court application by the DA compelling the government to arrest Putin if he lands on South African shores.
"I have noted that some people have gone to court, but in the end, matters of conducting foreign policy and matters of inviting whoever, like we invited President de Sousa, are functions of the executive.
"It’s not the function of other people outside the executive. It is the government, it is the president, who invites other heads of state. That function is not devolved to any other person," said Ramaphosa.
He called for calm while he awaited the report.
"The inter-ministerial committee met yesterday (Monday), and obviously they are still finalising their minutes and their report, and the report will be presented to the appropriate structure, me first, and thereafter it will either go to Cabinet tomorrow or another day," he said.
The Star