ANC Off'l Says Russia Warned That Arresting Putin Would Be Declaration Of War

Senior ANC official Obed Bapela told Radio702 that on a recent visit to Moscow a delegation he was part of heard from Russia's ruling party that complying with an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court and detaining President Vladimir Putin would amount to a declaration of war.

• "You dare arrest our President and you are declaring war on us," Russian colleagues reportedly told the ANC delegation, with Bapela adding that South Africa has no means of stopping a founding member state of BRICS from attending the bloc's summit in August, despite hosting the event.
• The Deputy Chair of ANC International Relations Sub-Committee also said that the behaviour of U.S. ambassador to South Africa calls for his immediate expulsion. He noted that ANC officials are yet to decide on meeting with the U.S. diplomat.
• As a reminder, ambassador Reuben Brigety last week claimed that a Russian cargo ship loaded with weapons left a South African seaport last December. He has since issued an apology, while the two sides held talks to defuse tensions.
• Asked if the ANC are holding a grudge against the U.S. Bapela invoked familiar historical arguments, noting that "when we wanted support to fight apartheid [the U.S.] rejected us. We went to the Soviet Union and they embraced us."