South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa said that any attempt to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin when he visits the country next month would be a declaration of war with Russia.
Ramaphosa said in court papers that were released on Tuesday that “Russia has made it clear that arresting its sitting President would be a declaration of war.”
Putin has been invited to a BRICS summit in Johannesburg next month but is the target of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant – a provision that Pretoria as an ICC member would be expected to implement were he to attend.
South Africa’s diplomatic dilemma is playing out in court, where the leading opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), is trying to force the government’s hand and ensure the Kremlin leader is held and handed over to the ICC if he steps foot in the country.
In his response, Ramaphosa described the DA’s application as “irresponsible” and said national security was at stake. According to the president, South Africa is seeking an exemption under ICC rules based on the fact that enacting the arrest could threaten the “security, peace and order of the state”.
“It would be inconsistent with our constitution to risk engaging in war with Russia,” he said, adding that this would go against his duty to protect the country.
The arrest would also undermine a South African-led mission to end the war in Ukraine and “foreclose any peaceful solution”, Ramaphosa wrote.
The ICC treaty states that a member country should consult the court when it identifies problems that may impede the execution of a request, and that the court may not proceed with requesting an arrest if this would require a state to break international rules on diplomatic immunity.
South Africa is the current chair of the BRICS group, a gathering of economic heavyweights that also includes Brazil, Russia, India and China, which sees itself as a counter-balance to Western economic domination.
Putin is sought by the ICC over accusations that Russia unlawfully deported Ukrainian children.
South African Deputy President Paul Mashatile has said in recent interviews with local media the government has been trying to persuade Putin not to come – but so far unsuccessfully.
Signed in June and initially marked as “confidential”, Ramaphosa’s affidavit was published on Tuesday, after the court ruled it be made public.
Yeah, Vladimir I-will-take-Ukraine-over-in-a-week Putin will come and declare war on South Africa. If they’re afraid, why not ask the west for help in case Poopin indeed does declare war? This sounds more like choosing sides than protecting his own country.
They are reliant on agriculture from Russia. They don’t want to damage that trade relationship. Climate change has made Africa less than ideal for many crops.
No, that’s just bollocks. It’s of course a refusal to choose sides. Stop making Putin’s point for him, the whole “if you’re not with us, you’re against us” mindset reeks of coming straight from the Führerbunker.
Why exactly should the global south have any appetite to get involved and thereby legitimize warfare by sanctions, when precisely that method has been applied against many nations in the developing world quite arbitrarily, when they didn’t cave in to Western demands? Clear case of what goes around comes around.
Now, let’s be clear here, Putin is still the far bigger dick and the aggressor, but by how much is a question of perspective. Uncomfortable as it may be, but from most not distinctly Western perspectives the difference is barely even noticeable. Yes, maybe one is worse, but preferably you want to keep both at arms bay and, come to think of it, you don’t really mind when they keep each other busy somewhere far away. At all.
You may dislike that all you want, but dislike probably won’t convert people to your simplistic black and white view when they know better from their own experience.
As someone from the global south, thank you. You perfectly put into words exactly how a very many people around me are feeling.
This us vs you mentality is really rubbing a lot of people the wrong way, and telling us that our neutrality means that we’re supporting the global west/ north’s enemy is frankly insulting, considering what the global west/ north has done in the past and is still doing now.
Not choosing a side is the same as choosing the aggressor’s side. If you can’t see that I’m glad you’re not in charge of foreign policy. This isn’t some disagreement between nations.
There are lot of people saying that in charge of foreign policy somewhere. And not a single one actually thinking it.
If ICC is ordering them to arrest Putin and they are refusing then why are they member of ICC? It means nothing.
Also stop defending Putin with whataboutism. He illegally invaded another nation. Full stop. Doesn’t matter that other terrible things in human history happened.