Putin will personally attend BRICS summit in Africa, says South African President 

This was reported by Eyewitness News.

After the arrest warrant for Putin was issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), there was speculation that the event could be held online. However, the South African president denied this.

At a meeting of the BRICS Business Council in Sandton on July 13, Ramaphosa said that the summit would be held in person.

"There were rumors that this could also become an online summit - no. It is going to be face to face, eyeball to eyeball,” he said.

Stavros Nihalou, Chairman of the BRICS Business Council, noted that all the heads of state of the five BRICS countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - will attend the August meeting. Johannesburg, the largest city in South Africa, was chosen as the venue. The leaders of at least 22 countries have already confirmed their participation in the summit.

"Expect a number of heads of State. But importantly, the five BRICS heads of State will attend the forum," he emphasised.

For reference: BRICS is a group of the largest developing countries by area. The group includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The BRICS is considered a rival to the G7 bloc, which includes countries with the world's leading economies - the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy, and Canada.

What is known about the BRICS summit and Putin's arrest

On March 17, the International Court of Justice in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Putin. The ICC's decision is related to the war crimes of Putin and Lvova-Belova. They are suspected of illegal deportation of the Ukrainian civilians, including children.

After that, Brazil implied that Putin could be arrested in the country on the basis of a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister, commenting on the ICC's decision, said that "the wheels of justice are turning," while Human Rights Watch called the arrest warrant for Putin a "wake-up call" for those who commit or conceal abuses.

Later, these countries were joined by representatives of the United Kingdom and Canada, who strongly supported the court's position.

US President Joe Biden also said that the ICC's arrest warrant for Putin was justified because the Russian president had committed war crimes. 

Lawyer Kateryna Busol believed that South Africa would try to persuade Putin not to attend the BRICS summit in August. Later, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he planned to attend a meeting of BRICS foreign ministers in South Africa on June 1-2.

In mid-April, South Africa emphasized that the arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin issued by a court in The Hague was putting a spoke in their wheel before the BRICS summit in August.

On April 26, South Africa announced that it would not withdraw from the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, which issued the arrest warrant for Putin.

On May 1, the South African authorities informally warned Russia that they would be forced to arrest Russian dictator Putin under an ICC warrant if he flew to the country for the BRICS summit.

On May 30, South Africa announced that it would not cancel the ICC's decisions, but would grant diplomatic immunity to participants in the BRICS summit in August.