South Africa’s President Warns That Arresting Putin if He Visits Would Risk War

The chief of South Africa mentioned that his nation would threat struggle with Russia if it arrested President Vladimir V. Putin at a diplomatic summit in Johannesburg subsequent month.

The revelation by President Cyril Ramaphosa, revealed in a court docket affidavit made public on Tuesday, was the clearest indication but that South Africa was searching for any manner attainable to keep away from arresting Mr. Putin when it hosts a long-planned assembly of the heads of state of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, a bloc generally known as BRICS.

Mr. Putin is the topic of an arrest warrant on accusations associated to the struggle in Ukraine by the International Criminal Court. The warrant makes South Africa, as a signatory to the court docket, legally obliged to arrest the Russian president. Russia “has made it clear” that arresting Mr. Putin “would be a declaration of war,” Mr. Ramaphosa mentioned in his affidavit.

“It would be inconsistent with our Constitution to risk engaging in war with Russia,” Mr. Ramaphosa wrote within the 32-page affidavit.

Mr. Ramaphosa was responding to a petition by South Africa’s largest opposition political occasion, the Democratic Alliance, that requested a court docket in Pretoria, the nation’s government capital, to power the federal government to arrest Mr. Putin if he attended the summit, in Johannesburg, in late August. The court docket is anticipated to listen to arguments within the case on Friday.

Mr. Ramaphosa argued in his affidavit that South Africa’s Bill of Rights required the federal government to guard and promote sure rights, together with “the right to be free from all forms of violence.”

“An act that would be perceived as a declaration of war by Russia would be reckless,” Mr. Ramaphosa wrote, and battle together with his and “the government’s constitutional obligations.”

Mr. Ramaphosa additionally argued that arresting Mr. Putin would battle with South Africa’s effort to dealer a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. Mr. Ramaphosa joined a number of African leaders final month in assembly with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine in Kyiv after which with Mr. Putin in St. Petersburg, Russia, to debate a path to ending the struggle — a mission that was met with skepticism from each.

South Africa has been exploring choices that may permit it to keep away from arresting Mr. Putin if he goes to Johannesburg. Mr. Ramaphosa mentioned in his affidavit that he was consulting with the leaders of every BRICS nation, and he requested the court docket to present him time to finish the session.

Last week, South Africa’s deputy president, Paul Mashatile, mentioned his nation had raised the potential for holding the summit nearly or transferring it to China. Both choices had been rejected by South Africa’s BRICS companions, he mentioned. And Russian officers have resisted a suggestion that Mr. Putin’s overseas minister attend the summit in his place, Mr. Mashatile mentioned.

The summit is scheduled to be held from Aug. 22 by means of Aug. 24.