Global Courant 2023-05-03 04:14:01
Putin’s top official lashed out at the UN
Fox News’ Eric Shawn reports from the United Nations as Sergey Lavrov chaired a Security Council meeting. Prior to the meeting, the sister of imprisoned American Paul Whelan demanded her brother’s immediate release from a Russian prison.
Russian President Vladimir Putin could be arrested if he attends an economic summit in South Africa in the coming months, according to a report.
The BRICS economic bloc, led by Russia and China, is hosting its August 2023 economic summit in South Africa, which is a member of the International Criminal Court.
Speaking to South Africa’s Sunday Times, a senior government official said the country has no choice but to arrest Putin if he chooses to attend the BRICS summit in person.
“There is no option not to arrest Putin – if he comes here, we have to arrest him,” said a senior government official. “The only option we have is for him to connect via Teams or Zoom from Moscow.”
INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT DELAYES PUTIN ARREST WAR FOR DEPORTATIONS OF CHILDREN FROM UKRAINE
The arrest of a Wall Street Journal reporter by the Vladimir Putin regime has sparked international outrage. (Gavriil Grigorov/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool via AP, File)
The ICC issued an arrest warrant against Putin in March, saying there is reason to believe he “bears responsibility for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population and that of unlawful transfer of population from occupied territories of Ukraine to the Russian Federation, in of Ukrainian children.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in late April that Russia will participate in the BRICS summit, but did not add details, according to the Moscow Times.
“Of course we will participate in the summit that will be held in South Africa. Of course, our bilateral contacts with the South Africans will precede this, we will clarify their position,” said Peskov.
NEW WORLD DISTRESS: BLOCK CHINA, RUSSIA INCREASE INFLUENCE AS COUNTRIES LIKE TO PARTICIPATE, INCLUDING US Allies
Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Russian President Vladimir Putin arrive to pose for a group photo during the 10th BRICS Summit, July 26, 2018, at the Sandton Convention Center in Johannesburg, South Africa . (Gianluigi Guercia/Pool/AFP via Getty Images, File)
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on April 25 that the African National Congress had decided to withdraw the country from the ICC, which his office later backed down from, according to AFP.
“The presidency wishes to clarify that South Africa remains a signatory (of the ICC),” Ramaphosa’s office said later on April 25, according to the report.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Chinese President Xi Jinping, center, hosts the 14th BRICS summit via video link in Beijing, China, June 23, 2022. (Rao Aimin/Xinhua via Getty Images, File)
The agency added that the “clarification follows an error in a comment made at a media briefing held by the ruling African National Congress.”
According to the South African Sunday Times, the country’s foreign ministry has taken personal legal advice stating that if Putin were not arrested while in South Africa, it would be a violation of the country’s own laws.
Fox News’ Timothy Nerozzi contributed to this report.
Adam Sabes is a writer for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter @asabes10.
