In this regard, the Minister of International Relations, Naledi Pandor, said that her Ministry is awaiting an updated legal opinion on an invitation for Putin to attend the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for his arrest.

We are making this assessment given that South Africa is a member state of the Rome Statute of the ICC, she explained.

We would like, she added, to be in a position where we can continue to engage with Ukraine and Russia in the search for a peaceful solution to the conflict between the two countries.

On March 17, the ICC issued arrest warrants against Putin and the Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, for alleged war crimes (the alleged deportation of Ukrainian minors illegally to Russian territory).

In this regard, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova reminded that Russia is not a member of the Rome Statute of the ICC and does not have any obligations under it.

Possible arrest prescriptions emanating from the ICC are legally void for us, she emphasized.

Other countries and organizations also criticized the ICC decision, among them the Communist Party of Cuba.

Its head of International Relations, Emilio Lozada, pointed out that this is a politically motivated double standard decision, which constitutes a flagrant violation of the principles of International Law.

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