South Africa is still considering its legal options if Russia’s President Vladimir Putin decides to attend a Brics summit in August, Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor has said, Reuters news agency reports.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Mr Putin over the war in Ukraine, putting South Africa in a dilemma as it prepares to host a summit of the leaders who make up the Brics group of nations.
“Our government is currently looking at what the legal options are with respect to this matter and I’ve indicated… that it is something the president will be [the] best person to speak about once it has reached a conclusion,” Reuters quotes Ms Pandor as saying on the side-lines of a meeting of Brics foreign ministers in Cape Town.
The news agency also quotes an unnamed official as saying that one option gaining traction among South African officials would be to ask China to host the summit.
Bloomberg news agency has a similar report, quoting unnamed sources as saying that South Africa is considering asking another country – China or neighbouring Mozambique – to host the summit.
However, a spokesman for Ms Pandor, Lunga Ngqengelele said that “as far as we are aware, we have announced the summit venue as Gauteng, South Africa”, Bloomberg reports.
“That is what we know as of today,” Mr Ngqengelele said.
Brics is made up of Brazil, Russia, China, India and South Africa.