Arresting Vladimir Putin would mean declaring war on Russia, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa estimated in documents published on Tuesday, amid a national debate about hosting the Russian president in the country for the BRICS summit.
Arresting the Russian President in South Africa in accordance with the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant would be declaring war on Moscow, President Cyril Ramaphosa stated on Tuesday, July 18. “It would be unreasonable, unconstitutional, and illegitimate for the country’s government to use its full powers to declare war on Russia by arresting President Putin,” Ramaphosa said, cited by the News 24 portal, at the High Court in the Gauteng province of South Africa.
Vladimir Putin is expected to visit South Africa in August for the upcoming BRICS summit. It would be inconsistent with the country’s constitution to declare war on Russia, continued Cyril Ramaphosa, stating that as President, he has the constitutional obligation to defend national sovereignty, peace, and security in the Republic.
On March 17, the ICC issued an arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, a Russian Commissioner for Children’s Rights, accusing them of the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children. Russia, which does not recognize the ICC, responded by placing several judges of the organization on its wanted list.
