South Africa’s minority opposition party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), says Russian President Vladimir Putin is welcome to visit Pretoria despite an arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The ICC, of which South Africa is a signatory, has accused Putin of war crimes, which include the kidnapping of Ukrainian children in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Mr Putin is scheduled to travel to South Africa for the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit in August.
EFF leader Julius Malema said on Thursday that no one would arrest Putin while in South Africa, a country where Russia is “playing a big role in supporting the freedom struggle”.
Mr Malema said the South African government should not give in to pressure from the ICC, which it accused of “hypocrisy”.
“Putin is welcome here. No one will arrest Putin. If necessary, we will take Putin from the airport to meetings. He will speak, complete all meetings, and we will take him back to the airport,” said Mr. Malema.
“We know our friends. We know the people who free us. We know the people who support us,” he said.
South Africa maintains close diplomatic ties with Moscow despite Western condemnation. Last month, the navy conducted joint exercises with Russian forces off the coast of South Africa. It also abstained when the UN voted condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In 2015, the South African government was criticized for allowing Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to leave the country despite an ICC arrest warrant.
Source: BBC
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