South African authorities have confirmed that President Cyril Ramaphosa is in direct contact with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to discuss the issue of a warrant for his arrest issued against him by the International Criminal Court.
“The President (Ramaphosa) is talking directly to President Putin about the ICC case,” Paul Macatele, a spokesman for the South African Vice President, told the Financial Times.
In turn, Machatelli confirmed to Novosti24 that Ramaphosa will take part in the Russia-Africa summit at the end of this month, and therefore will continue the dialogue with President Putin.
He added: “We want to share with him the challenges we’re facing because we’re a party to the Rome Statute (International Criminal Court) and we can’t refuse that.”
It is noteworthy that in August South Africa will host a summit of the leaders of the BRICS group, which includes Russia, China, India, Brazil and South Africa.
The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of kidnapping children from Ukraine.
South Africa is party to the court, which obliges it to arrest Putin if he gets to its territory.
Source: Financial Times.