Internationaal•19 jul ’23 17:15Auteur: Remy Kock
Russian President Vladimir Putin is definitely not coming to the Brics summit in South Africa next month. So says South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Instead, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov does the honors.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is definitely not coming to the Brics summit in South Africa next month. So says South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Instead, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov does the honors. (AP / AFP)
And that has everything to do with the international arrest warrant issued against Putin, says journalist and founder of Raam on Russia Laura Starink. “When the International Criminal Court stunned friend and foe with the extradition request in March, everyone thought ‘where is this going wrong’, so that’s here,” she explains. ‘In South Africa. And that is surprising, because Putin has always said that he is the great leader despite the fact that the West is on the decline.’
“It would mean that he has also become a pariah in the rest of the world”
Laura Starink
It is therefore problematic for his ‘leadership’ that he can no longer appear in South Africa, thinks Starink. “It would mean that he has become a pariah in the rest of the world as well. That is an extremely nasty line through the bill.’
Inviolability
All the more so because Ramaphosa still publicly stated that he wanted to achieve immunity for Putin. Something that now seems to have failed, despite the attempts to talk to the South African criminal court. ‘He was not allowed to make an exception for Putin’, continues Starink. ‘He then tried to move the Brics summit to China, or to possibly have the summit take place digitally. No permission was given for that either.’
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As a desperation attempt, Ramaphosa then tried to ask for understanding for the situation, according to Starink. “He then revealed that the Russians told him that if Putin were arrested, it would be seen as a declaration of war.” Starink speaks of an exceptional situation, because it is a direct threat from one friendly country to another. “But Putin has to back down now, and has decided not to come.”
Little in public
It is the umpteenth time that Putin is conspicuous by his absence. Both at home and abroad, it is extremely rare that he shows himself in public. Something that, according to Starink, is due to the fear of attacks. “He’s extremely anxious,” she says. ‘Before attacks, but in the past he was also before corona. In addition, he is no longer welcome in a large part of the world. (…). But if you want to be the leader of the Third World, you still have to travel – while he has now shown that he does not dare. After all the problems in the interior caused by the war, such as the unrest in the military top, that is another big blow.’
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2023-07-19 15:15:00
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