The US ambassador to South Africa, Reuben Brigety says the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) Rome Statute is clear about what should happen if Russia’s President Vladimir Putin comes to South Africa for the BRICS summit.
Putin has been invited to attend the August summit. The ICC earlier this year issued a warrant of arrest for Putin over allegations of war crimes in Ukraine related to the movement of Ukrainian children into Russia.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year and has faced fierce resistance from Ukrainian troops. Brigety has addressed the media in Pretoria. He’s acknowledged that the US is not a signatory to the ICC. But he says South Africa is a signatory and must honour its obligations.
“We are not members of the Rome the ICC. We did not sign the treaty but we know South Africa has and so as we look at this situation from a distance, we do not understand what the debate is about. The legal prospects seem to be clear and so we don’t understand why the government of South Africa will not publicly enforce and commit to the obligations it has voluntarily taken upon itself.”
