The SA Presidency has confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the BRICS Summit.
Russia will instead be represented by its Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the Johannesburg summit, alongside the leaders of Brazil, India, China and South Africa, the presidency said in a statement.
South Africa faced a dilemma in hosting the summit because, as a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), it would theoretically be required to arrest Putin for alleged war crimes if he were to attend.
The ICC in March issued an arrest warrant for Putin, accusing him of the war crime of illegally deporting children from Ukraine.
Moscow has said the warrant is legally void as Russia is not a member of the ICC.
