BRICS (the bloc of emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) foreign ministers declared their intention to compete with the West on Thursday. However, a question mark hung over their discussions in South Africa as to whether or not the Russian president would be arrested if he attended a summit in August.
Naledi Pandor, South Africa’s foreign minister, said the country was considering its options in case Vladimir Putin, for whom the International Criminal Court (ICC) had issued an arrest warrant for war crimes, attended the upcoming BRICS summit in Johannesburg.
Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa’s president, will reveal the country’s final stance. At this time, Pandor said, an invitation has been extended to all BRICS leaders.
In March, the ICC charged Putin with the war crime of forcibly expelling children from Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine. Moscow strongly refutes the charges.
In January, Putin was invited by South Africa.
Putin has not confirmed his intentions, and the Kremlin has stated only that Russia will participate at the appropriate level.
Beijing’s initiative and Moscow’s renewed vigor since the outbreak of war in Ukraine in February 2022 have given BRICS a clearer form in recent years.
Vice Minister Ma Zhaoxu of China has stated that his country welcomes the possibility of new members joining BRICS, arguing that the expansion of the group will be beneficial to the current members.
The Foreign Minister of Iran and his Saudi counterpart attended the BRICS meeting in Cape Town, which will continue on Friday. Venezuela, Argentina, Algeria, and the United Arab Emirates are among the nations that have either formally applied for or expressed interest in joining the BRICS.
