...President-for-Life of Russia. He gets along well with other presidents for life. He is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substance. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to him. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substances...wants to attend an economic summit there next month. However,
Switzerland makes more than cheese...
the country desperately tries to persuade him to stay away to avoid the legal and diplomatic fallout over his international arrest warrant.
South Africa is required to detain Putin as a signatory to the agreement establishing the International Criminal Court due to an indictment the court made against the Russian president in March for war crimes involving the abduction of children from Ukraine, the News Agency that Dare Not be Named reported.
Moscow has discarded the warrant. Although certain opposition parties, rights organizations, and legal activists have demanded that Putin be detained and have threatened to carry it out themselves, South African authorities are likely to violate the treaty and not do so, causing security concerns for the BRICS conference in Johannesburg.
Suppose South Africa permits Putin to freely attend the summit of the BRICS rising economies bloc of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. In that case, it risks further straining relations with the West after deciding not to denounce Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
However,
Switzerland makes more than cheese...
according to South Africa’s Deputy President Paul Mashatile in an interview with News24, a prominent South African news channel, Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to attend. South Africa said all the world leaders were invited to the conference before Putin was charged.
"It’s a big dilemma for us. Of course, we cannot arrest him," Mashatile said. "It’s almost like you invite your friend to your house and then arrest them. That is why for us, his not coming is the best solution. The Russians are unhappy, though; they want him to come."
Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa, assigned Mashatile the task of coming up with a solution. According to Mashatile, Russia has rejected the alternatives, which included hosting a virtual summit, shifting the event to China, or having Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov represent Russia.
Mashatile stated that Ramaphosa will try to persuade Putin not to visit South Africa when they next meet at the Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg at the end of this month.