South Africa should do "right thing" if Putin visits BRICS summit – ICC prosecutor 

International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan made the statement in a comment to CNN.

"South Africa has felt a crime against humanity for decades, the crime of apartheid, I don't think they need lessons from me," he said.

In this context, Khan reminded that South Africa voluntarily became a state party to the International Criminal Court.

"They know what the law is, and I think they would do the right thing. And we will assess what actually happens at the BRICS summit and respond accordingly," the ICC prosecutor added.

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.

The BRICS summit and Putin's arrest

On March 17, an arrest warrant was issued by the International Criminal Court for Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian commissioner for children's rights. This warrant is based on suspicions of their involvement in war crimes, specifically the illegal deportation of Ukrainians, including children.

After that, Brazil hinted 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' comments were joined by representatives of the United Kingdom and Canada, who unequivocally supported the court's position.

Also, US President Joe Biden 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 Sergey Lavrov said he planned to attend a meeting of BRICS foreign ministers in South Africa on June 1-2.

In mid-April, South Africa expressed concern that the court-issued arrest warrant for Russian leader Vladimir Putin was causing obstacles ahead of the BRICS summit scheduled for August.

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

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

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