South Africa’s presidency announced on Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and the BRICS group of nations have reached a mutual agreement for his absence at the upcoming summit in South Africa this August.
In a statement, the presidency confirmed that Russia will be represented by its Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov instead of President Vladimir Putin at the BRICS summit.
The hosting of the summit posed a challenge for South Africa due to its membership in the International Criminal Court (ICC), which raised the possibility of President Putin, accused of war crimes, being apprehended if he were to attend.
The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Putin.
The leaders of Brazil, India, China and South Africa will attend the summit, the presidency said.