By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa is sending a delegation to Washington to smooth simmering tensions around South Africa’s relationship with Russia, hoping to avoid a diplomatic fallout that could put trade ties worth R400bn at risk.
Speaking to the Sunday Times, minister of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) Naledi Pandor said that the envoys would be sent to “engage and persuade” stakeholders on the country’s stance on Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin.
In August 2023, Russian Vladimir Putin is expected to attend a BRICS conference being hosted in South Africa, prompting speculation over whether or not the president will be arrested.
It is understood that cabinet officials said that the country has never and will never, arrest a sitting head of state. However, this is unlikely to go over smoothly with countries like the United States and nations in Europe, who are leading ever-tightening sanctions against Russia.
Diplomatic and political fallout over the issue could put South Africa’s R400 billion in trade with the United States at risk.
South African chief executives, analysts, economists and risk specialists have been warning for months that South Africa’s close ties to Russia are quickly becoming one of the biggest in the country – and the trade being gabled is bigger than just the United States.
The South African government has repeatedly taken a neutral stance on Russia’s aggression in Europe in any official international communications. It has called for a diplomatic solution to the war and wants to help facilitate peace talks.
South Africa digging in its heels over its friendship with Russia comes as there’s a growing expectation that Putin will be arrested if he arrives in South Africa for the BRICS summit in August.
The South African government has requested a legal opinion on how to address the arrest warrant that the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued against Putin on 18 March for alleged war crimes relating to the abduction of children from Ukraine.
South Africa will host the BRICS summit and, as a signatory of the Rome Statute, may be required to execute the arrest warrant if Putin attends the summit.
Formal diplomatic relations between Russia and South Africa were established in February 1992.