Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the summit of the BRICS group of nations in South Africa next month.
Putin will be represented at the summit by Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Vincent Magwenya, a spokesman for President Cyril Ramaphosa, said:
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, Mr Sergey Lavrov.
Russian media quoted Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov as saying Putin will participate in the conference – an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) by video link.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Putin in March for alleged war crimes committed in Ukraine, and South Africa would theoretically be required to arrest him if he were to attend.
South Africa will host the 15th BRICS summit at Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, from 22-24 August 2023.
The group was formed by Brazil, Russia, India and China in 2019 as BRIC. South Africa joined the following year after an invitation from China, expanding the group.
Ethiopia, Iran and Argentina have also applied to join the bloc.
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