New Delhi: Russian President Vladimir Putin will participate in the BRICS summit in South Africa next month via video conference, spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, as reported by news agency ANI. “This will be full-fledged participation. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will attend the summit in person,” ANI quoted Peskov as saying.
#UPDATE | Russian President’s Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov says, “Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to participate in the BRICS summit via video conference. This will be full-fledged participation. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will attend the summit in person.” https://t.co/pYVPo1GD2D
— ANI (@ANI) July 19, 2023
This comes after the South African presidency earlier in the day stated that the Russian President will not attend the global conclave, according to a report by news agency AFP.
“By mutual agreement, President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation will not attend the summit, but the Russian Federation will be represented by Foreign Minister Mr (Sergei) Lavrov,” Vincent Magwenya, a spokesman for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, said in a statement, reported AFP.
The decision comes after “a number of consultations” held by Ramaphosa in recent months, the most recent of which took place “last night,” the spokesman said.
According to a BBC report, South Africa’s invitation to President Putin was issued before the International Criminal Court (ICC) accused him of war crimes in Ukraine, a development that has stoked controversy both nationally and internationally.
“President Ramaphosa is confident that the Summit will be a success and calls on the nation to extend the necessary hospitality to the many delegates who will arrive from various parts of the continent and the globe,” Magwenya added.
According to AFP, Putin was formally invited to attend the BRICS summit scheduled to take place in Johannesburg between August 22 and 24.
It is to be noted that South Africa is the current chair of the BRICS group, a gathering of nations that also includes Brazil, Russia, India and China, which sees itself as a counterweight to Western economic domination.