Ukrainian activist Oleksandra Romantsova recently offered to South African authorities that Russian President Vladimir Putin phone in rather than fly to this year’s BRICS gathering in South Africa.
South Africa, as a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), would be compelled to detain Putin if he attended the 15th BRICS Summit, which South Africa will host in August.
The BRICS are a group of emerging markets that may compete with the West. They include Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
If Putin comes to South Africa, he must be detained. The political environment is loaded with peril. According to Romantsova, Putin should use Zoom to join her session at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.
Romantsova, executive head of Ukraine’s Center for Civil Liberties and joint laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize last year, was part of a Ukrainian civil society delegation that aimed to distribute as much information as possible about the continuing conflict more than a year after Russia’s invasion.
Director-General of the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation Zane Dangor said that his staff met with the Ukrainian delegation, but he did not disclose any specifics.
Russia asserts that it is carrying out a “special military operation” in Ukraine.
The International Criminal Court issued the arrest warrant for Putin after convicting Moscow of war crimes for forcefully deporting Ukrainian children. The Kremlin has reacted strongly, proclaiming any court decisions “null and void.”
Russia’s capital has often rebuffed charges that its soldiers committed atrocities during the invasion.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa remarked this week that his government has yet to determine what to do about Vladimir Putin’s arrest order. South Africa stands out as one of Russia’s most important partners on a continent torn apart by the crisis in Ukraine and the West’s attempts to isolate Russia as a consequence of it.
South Africa staged a joint naval practice with Russia and China in February, a month after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s visit. Ramaphosa offered last year that South Africa acts as a mediator in the situation, but his suggestion was rejected.
According to Romantsova, if South Africa were to act as a mediator, it would require strong connections with both Russia and Ukraine. “You need to understand the situation in Ukraine, and you need to have a regular connection,” she said.
