South Africa struggles with Putin's plan to attend BRICS summit

Russian President Vladimir V. Putin pushes ahead with plans to attend a summit in South Africa next month, even as the host nation grapples with diplomatic and legal fallout of his expected attendance, South African Vice President said on Friday.

South Africa is to host a meeting of BRICS countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - in Johannesburg in August. The heads of state of the other four nations are expected, but an international arrest warrant for Mr Putin has placed South Africa in a dilemma.

" It's a big dilemma for us," Vice President Paul Mashatile told South African news site News24. "Of course we can't stop it. invite your friend to your house and then you arrest him That's why for us his not coming is the best solution ukrainian children South Africa, member of the tribunal, is obliged to arrest Mr Putin s he arrives in the country. Mindful of its warm relationship with Russia, South African officials said they were seeking legal advice to assess their obligations to the international tribunal.

"Russians are not happy, even," Mr. Mashatile said. "They want him to come."

Mr. Mashatile leads a committee to figure out how to handle the diplomatic puzzle. South African officials offered several possible solutions, all of which failed to convince their counterparts in BRICS countries, said Vukani Mde, spokesperson for Mr. Mashatile.

A summit was rejected, as was the possibility of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei V. Lavrov replacing Mr. Putin. There was also no "unanimous support" for the proposal to move the summit to China, which is not a member of the international court, Mr Mde said.

Russian officials have pushed back and are unhappy with the possibility that Mr. Putin will be excluded from a meeting of heads of state. South Africa, however, is still trying to find a workaround, with its president, Cyril Ramaphosa, continuing to discuss the matter with Mr Putin, the spokesman said.

"The South African government is very suspicious of an unprecedented situation of arrest of a sitting head of state," Mde said.