President Cyril Ramaphosa will go to Russia soon to persuade Vladimir Putin to join the Brics summit in Johannesburg online, a desperate move that underscores the huge risks of rolling out the red carpet for a superpower leader with an arrest warrant on his head.
SA was handed a political, economic and diplomatic conundrum after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant of arrest against Putin, casting doubt about how Pretoria would act if and when the Russian leader shows up for the bloc’s annual summit in August.
Business Day has also learnt that Ramaphosa, who has come under intense attack from business leaders, will also visit Ukraine, whose invasion by Russia has drawn condemnation from SA’s biggest trading partners, to possibly affirm SA’s official pledge as non-aligned in the conflict.
Ramaphosa’s tour of the two countries is the strongest indication yet that SA will not risk antagonising the Kremlin or creating a cascade of diplomatic tensions with its biggest trading partners in the West, which have the means to paralyse the economy.
News of Ramaphosa’s imminent visit to Ukraine and Russia came hours after minister in the presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni warned that detaining Putin would be “tantamount to declaring war” on Russia and said the government was “considering all options” ahead of the summit pencilled in for August.
Preparations for the summit featured prominently during Wednesday’s cabinet meeting, where an interministerial (IMC) team tasked with the implications of rolling out the red carpet for Putin presented a legal opinion concluding that SA cannot avoid a Putin arrest.
“As we speak now nothing has changed and SA will still host the Brics summit in Johannesburg ... the IMC is still working and is considering a number of permutations and proposals,” Ntshavheni said during a media briefing on Wednesday. “The deputy chair of the security council of Russia has indicated that anyone who arrests President Putin will be tantamount to a declaration of war. I don’t think this country wants us to declare war with Russia.”
Ntshavheni says the options considered by the government will be in line with SA’s national interests and upholding the rule of law.
“Those announcements will be made at the right time.”
Ramaphosa’s visit to Ukraine will be seen as an attempt to affirm SA’s non-aligned stance, which was called into question in recent weeks by US allegations that a Russian ship, called Lady R, picked up weapons when it docked in Simon’s Town in December.
Last week, he sent a high-powered delegation of ministerial envoys to meet Group of Seven countries to explain SA’s nonaligned stance on the Russia-Ukraine war.
Ramaphosa has appointed an inquiry, led by retired judge Phineas Mojapelo, to get to the bottom of the allegations.
On Wednesday, Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, said his country would wait for the investigation outcome before it takes a position on SA’s stance.
Business Day previously reported that the government is considering moving the summit to China, which is not a signatory to the Rome Statute and is therefore not obliged to adhere to the warrant of arrest.
The rand has been bouncing back on the back of that reporting, according to PSG Group, an investment heavyweight. The currency firmed as much as 1.4% to R18.80/$ late on Thursday, its best level since May 9, and bringing gains so far this week to 3.5%. Its strength was not reflected only against the dollar, but also the pound and euro.
As a signatory to the Rome Statute, SA is compelled to act on the ICC warrant of arrest against Putin. The warrant of arrest was issued against him by the ICC earlier this year for Russia’s alleged war crimes in its year-long conflict with Ukraine.
In May, the government published a gazette granting diplomatic immunity to attendees of the Brics foreign ministers meeting in June and the Brics summit, spooking market watchers who feared SA was paving the way for Putin’s arrival.
However, in a statement on Wednesday, the cabinet re-emphasised that the issuing of diplomatic immunity for the two international events was standard procedure and does not override any warrant of arrest.
“The immunities are for the conference and not for specific individuals. This is a standard conferment of immunities that we do for all international conferences and summits held in South Africa, irrespective of the level of participation.”
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.