S. African Cabinet Ministers Divided Over BRICS Summit Host Status

The Cabinet failed to make a decision on how to approach the upcoming BRICS leaders' summit in the light of an arrest warrant issued against Russian President Vladimir Putin by the International Criminal Court, while local source reports suggest that ministers are divided over how to proceed.

• Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni yesterday said that any new decisions would be announced by the government, adding that South Africa is ready to be a venue of a possible peace summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
• Some interpreted Ntshavheni's comment that the authorities "want South Africa to be ready to receive all parties including the two presidents" as an indication that Pretoria would still be ready to host Putin.
• The Mail & Guardian reports that ministers are divided over how to approach the matter. An unnamed Cabinet minister told them that "Justice Minister Ronald Lamola was clear during Monday’s meeting that South Africa had no legal grounds to host Putin."
• Meanwhile, "Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe as well as Finance Minister Enoch Godogwana advocated for the August summit to be co-hosted in China while Ntshavheni herself is said to have called for South Africa to resist being dictated to by the West."