Johannesburg - SACP leader Solly Mapaila has asked the ANC, as the governing party and enforcer of policies, to consider the serious implications of Russian President Vladimir Putin's withdrawal from the upcoming Brics summit.
This comes after President Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed on Wednesday that Putin had excused himself from the 15th Brics summit set for next month.
Mapaila said Putin had shown extraordinary leadership acumen when he chose to take a leave of absence from the summit in light of the ICC warrant of arrest issued early this year.
"Russia has no less than 40 000 nuclear warheads. Who can touch such a country? So from a military and development perspective, Russia is as much a warhead as the US. No one wants to get into a war with such a country," Mapaila said.
He said Putin had become the most important leader for a multi-polar world system, which is why the rest of the Western world felt threatened by his appearance at the summit.
He said the continued policy of the governing party, where the state did not have its own financial institutions, had the potential to make the country bankrupt in the event of sanctions imposed by the West, adding that the state needed to rethink its positions on the public ownership of banking institutions.
On Wednesday, the ANC said it was relieved that Putin had chosen to stay away from the summit and instead have foreign minister Sergey Lavrov represent him.
The ANC and government had been at pains to find an amicable solution to the impasse caused by the possible arrest of one of the most feared world leaders.
Mapaila said no one could have stopped Putin from attending the summit, adding that no authority, even the US and the ICC, could have succeeded in arresting him.
He said, however, that this brought to light the economic make-up and policies followed by the ANC, as this awkward situation had the potential to rear its ugly head in future.
Mapaila was speaking during a panel discussion held with representatives from Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Palestine, and Western Sahara.
Following Ramaphosa’s announcement, the EFF cautioned all member states of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS), saying South Africa was led by a spineless leader who had bent over backward to allow the West to dictate to him.
Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said the decision had come as a mutual agreement between Ramaphosa and Putin after a meeting on Monday night.
"By mutual agreement, President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation will not attend the summit, but the Russian Federation will be represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov," said Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya.
"In a typical Western imperialist fashion, South Africa faced threats of losing financial and political ties with the West unless it arrested Putin. He said the US even threatened to withdraw South Africa from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) as a form of pressure," said EFF national spokesperson Sinawo Thambo.
The announcement came after the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, ordered the release of Ramaphosa’s confidential affidavit that he filed in response to the DA’s application calling for Putin’s arrest if he arrived in South Africa for the BRICS summit in August.
Ramaphosa’s confidential affidavit revealed that South Africa told the ICC that it had issues executing the warrant of arrest for Putin, and that it could not risk South Africa going to war with Russia.
Magwenya said that in due course, a comprehensive statement on the substantive issues to be covered at the summit and other related foreign policy matters would be issued.
"President Ramaphosa is confident that the summit will be a success and calls on the nation to extend the necessary hospitality to the many delegates who will arrive from various parts of the continent and the globe," Magwenya said.
ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said Putin’s withdrawal from attending the summit was a victory for Ramaphosa and his government.
The Star