TheCable

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa says arresting Russian leader Vladimir Putin would amount to a declaration of war.

Putin has been invited to a BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit which will take place in Johannesburg in August.

But the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Putin over war crimes.

As an ICC member, Pretoria would be expected to carry out the arrest warrant if the Russian president enters the country.

The Democratic Alliance (DA), South Africa’s leading opposition party, had gone to court to compel the government to ensure that Putin is handed over.

According to court papers released on Tuesday, responding in an affidavit, Ramaphosa described the DA’s application as “irresponsible”.

He added that it would be a “reckless, unconstitutional and unlawful exercise of the powers conferred upon the government to declare war with Russia by arresting President Putin”.

“Russia has made it clear that arresting its sitting president would be a declaration of war,” he said.

“It would be inconsistent with our constitution to risk engaging in war with Russia. I have constitutional obligations to protect the national sovereignty, peace and security of the republic, and to respect, protect, promote and fulfil the rights of the people of the republic to life, safety and security, among other rights in the bill of rights.”

The South African president said the country is seeking an exemption under ICC rules based on the fact that enacting the arrest could threaten the “security, peace and order of the state”.

South Africa is the current chair of the BRICS group, which sees itself as a counter-balance to Western economic domination.