Russian FM Sergey Lavrov will take part in the summit in person, while President Vladimir Putin will join via video
Russia will “fully participate” in the upcoming BRICS summit taking place in South Africa later this month, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.
Peskov was responding to questions on a rumored decision by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to skip in-person participation at the summit and join it via video instead. However, the spokesman refused to provide any assessment on such media reports.
“We cannot speak for the Prime Minister of India, but as for President [Vladimir] Putin, he aims to take part in the summit via videoconference; Foreign Minister [Sergey] Lavrov will work on the ground. Therefore, we are speaking about the fact that Russia will take a full-fledged part in this summit,” Peskov stated.
Later in the day, the Indian PM’s office refuted the rumors on Modi’s participation in the summit, confirming he was “looking forward” to traveling to South Africa. Over the past few days, multiple media outlets have reported that the PM was opting to skip the summit, citing the absence of Russia’s president at the event.
Putin’s decision to take part in the summit of BRICS leaders in South Africa via video was first announced in mid-July, putting an end to speculation on a potential visit by Putin to South Africa and the possible legal implications.
South Africa is a party to the International Criminal Court (ICC), which charged Putin with “kidnapping” Ukrainian children back in March, issuing an arrest warrant for the Russian leader. Moscow has dismissed the allegations as politically motivated, baseless, and coming from a Western-compromised entity.
Due to its status, South Africa would technically be obliged to try and arrest Putin and hand him over to the ICC, should he arrive in the country. However, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has repeatedly indicated that it was not a simple feat to arrest a foreign leader and warned that the move would effectively mean declaring “war” against Russia. Ultimately, the office of the South African president confirmed that the two nations had agreed that Putin would not travel to the country, sending Lavrov instead.
