THE CABLE
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”.
