South Africa, Due to Host Putin, Rows Back from Pledge to Quit War Crimes Court

Russia's President Vladimir Putin speaks with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the first plenary session as part of the 2019 Russia-Africa Summit at the Sirius Park of Science and Art in Sochi, Russia, October 24, 2019. Sergei Chirikov/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
Russia's President Vladimir Putin speaks with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the first plenary session as part of the 2019 Russia-Africa Summit at the Sirius Park of Science and Art in Sochi, Russia, October 24, 2019. Sergei Chirikov/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
TT

South Africa, Due to Host Putin, Rows Back from Pledge to Quit War Crimes Court

Russia's President Vladimir Putin speaks with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the first plenary session as part of the 2019 Russia-Africa Summit at the Sirius Park of Science and Art in Sochi, Russia, October 24, 2019. Sergei Chirikov/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
Russia's President Vladimir Putin speaks with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the first plenary session as part of the 2019 Russia-Africa Summit at the Sirius Park of Science and Art in Sochi, Russia, October 24, 2019. Sergei Chirikov/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa rowed back on Wednesday from a pledge to quit the International Criminal Court, months before he is due to host Russia's Vladimir Putin who is wanted by the ICC for suspected war crimes.

Ramaphosa had said on Tuesday that the ruling African National Congress would aim to repeal South Africa's membership of the Hague-based court, which hears cases of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. But on Wednesday, Ramaphosa's office said he had made a mistake, Reuters said.

"South Africa remains a signatory to the ICC in line with a resolution of the 55th National Conference of the ANC – held in December 2022 – to rescind an earlier decision to withdraw from the ICC," the presidency said in a statement.

"The December resolution was reaffirmed at a meeting of the National Executive Committee of the ANC during the weekend of 21 to 24 April 2023."

The ICC issued an arrest warrant in March for Putin, accusing him of the war crime of forcibly deporting children from Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine. Moscow denies committing war crimes including forced deportations of children, and says the ICC has no authority as Russia is not a member.

Putin is due to visit South Africa in August for a summit of the BRICS group of emerging economies comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. As an ICC member, South Africa would be required to detain him.

Putin has not traveled abroad since the ICC warrant was issued. He has made only one trip outside the former Soviet Union - to Iran - since launching the invasion of Ukraine last year.

The ANC decided at its national conference in December that South Africa should abandon a legislative process to pull out of the ICC and try to effect changes to the organization from within.
The presidency said on Wednesday that South Africa would work towards establishing an African continental criminal court that would complement the ICC as a court of last resort.



North Korea, Russia Reaffirm Commitment to Partnership Accord

A handout photo made available by the Russian Foreign Ministry press service shows Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (R) and North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui (L) during an unveiling ceremony of the plaque to mark Kim Il Sung visit to USSR in 1949, at Yaroslavsky railway station in Moscow, Russia, 01 November 2024.  EPA/RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS SERVICE HANDOUT
A handout photo made available by the Russian Foreign Ministry press service shows Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (R) and North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui (L) during an unveiling ceremony of the plaque to mark Kim Il Sung visit to USSR in 1949, at Yaroslavsky railway station in Moscow, Russia, 01 November 2024. EPA/RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS SERVICE HANDOUT
TT

North Korea, Russia Reaffirm Commitment to Partnership Accord

A handout photo made available by the Russian Foreign Ministry press service shows Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (R) and North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui (L) during an unveiling ceremony of the plaque to mark Kim Il Sung visit to USSR in 1949, at Yaroslavsky railway station in Moscow, Russia, 01 November 2024.  EPA/RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS SERVICE HANDOUT
A handout photo made available by the Russian Foreign Ministry press service shows Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (R) and North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui (L) during an unveiling ceremony of the plaque to mark Kim Il Sung visit to USSR in 1949, at Yaroslavsky railway station in Moscow, Russia, 01 November 2024. EPA/RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS SERVICE HANDOUT

The foreign ministers of North Korea and Russia reaffirmed their commitment to implement provisions agreed in June between the leaders of the two nations, North Korean state media KCNA reported on Saturday.
North Korea Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui and her Russian counterpart Sergei Viktorovich Lavrov met in Moscow, amid rising concerns about Pyongyang's involvement in Moscow's war in Ukraine, Reuters said.
NATO has joined the governments of South Korea, the US and Ukraine in confirming Pyongyang's dispatch of troops to Russia, saying that North Korean military units had been deployed to Russia's Kursk region on the border with Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June agreed that the two countries would provide military and other assistance if either were attacked, as part of a strategic partnership accord.