Cape Town – The Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) summit is set to take place in South Africa in August, and President Cyril Ramaphosa has confirmed that the event will be held in person despite speculation about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attendance.
There were suggestions that the summit could be held virtually due to an arrest warrant issued against Putin by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
However, Ramaphosa dismissed these rumours, saying the summit would be a face-to-face gathering.
“There were rumours that this too could become an online summit – no. It is going to be face to face, eyeball to eyeball.
“Expect a number of heads of State. But importantly, the five BRICS heads of State will attend the forum,” EWN quoted Ramaphosa as saying while addressing business leaders and ambassadors gathered at the Sandton Convention Centre on Thursday.
The report said that at least 22 heads of State already confirmed their attendance at the summit, scheduled to take place in Johannesburg.
Last week Ramaphosa told journalists on the sidelines of a conference by the ruling ANC that the Brics summit was going ahead and “we are finalising our discussions on the format”.
He did not say, however, if Putin would attend or not.
“We are going to have a physical Brics summit, all of us are committed to having a summit where we will be able to eyeball each other,” he said in response to a question.
“We have not held a physical summit for… almost three years. It’s not going to be virtual,” he stressed.
ANC President, Comrade Cyril Ramaphosa in conversation with members of the media. https://t.co/96pXW5qONM pic.twitter.com/e1CRULtmBO
— ANC SECRETARY GENERAL | Cde Mbalula (@MbalulaFikile) July 9, 2023
As a member of the ICC, South Africa would be expected to arrest Putin if he sets foot in the country.
The arrest warrant is a diplomatic dilemma for Pretoria, which has been close to the Kremlin since the anti-apartheid struggle years.
South Africa has not condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, saying it is impartial and prefers dialogue.
Last month, Ramaphosa led the presidents of the Republic of Congo, Egypt, Senegal and Uganda in a historic attempt to broker peace between Kyiv and Moscow.
The African leaders’ mission brought the voice of a continent that has badly suffered from repercussions of the Ukraine conflict, particularly with rising grain prices.
It put forward a 10-point proposal, including de-escalation, the recognition of countries’ sovereignty, unimpeded grain exports through the Black Sea and sending prisoners of war and children back to their countries of origin.
South Africa is the current chair of the Brics, a grouping of heavyweights that also includes Brazil, Russia, India and China to challenge the dominant US and European-led global governance structures.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
