RAMAPHOSA QUANDARY
Putin to stay away from BRICS Summit in Joburg, will send Lavrov instead
After weeks of speculation and backroom negotiations, it has been announced — Russia will be represented by foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, not president Vladimir Putin, at the BRICS summit in Johannesburg in August.
The Cyril Ramaphosa Presidency has formally announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be attending the BRICS Summit.
In a statement issued on Wednesday morning, Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said the Russian Federation would be represented by its foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov.
“By mutual agreement, President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation will not attend the summit but the Russian Federation will be represented by Foreign Minister Mr Sergey Lavrov,” it read.
“In due course, a comprehensive statement on the substantive issues to be covered at the summit and other related foreign policy matters will be issued.”
Read more in Daily Maverick: Pretoria’s Putin puzzle — South Africa once again on the horns of an ICC dilemma
This announcement comes after weeks of consultations about the summit. The President’s most recent consultation in this regard took place last night, Tuesday, 18 July 2023, at the BRICS Political Party Dialogue in Gauteng.
Read more in Daily Maverick: Arresting Putin risks engaging in war with Russia, President Ramaphosa warns on national security
The summit will be attended by the leaders of other member countries – Brazil, India, China and South Africa.
“President Ramaphosa is confident that the summit will be a success and calls on the nation to extend the necessary hospitality to the many delegates who will arrive from various parts of the continent and the globe,” the statement reads. DM
Become an Insider
Many thanks to the DA and others who (effectively) compelled this decision.
What a waste of resources on legal action to eventually convince this ANC government of its legal obligations… but as usual is illogical obfuscation!!!
Does anybody know when last Sergey Lavrov said anything truthful?
Never!
🤔🤔🤔😶😶😶
Good old Sergei Lapdog! This guy is made of rubber – entirely without a conscience, he bounces back always insisting black is white but continues to live in grey areas! If anyone can run rings around theANC it’s him – like the ANC, he is stranger to the truth, he’s just had more practice!
It was always the only way, especially after Prigohzin’s hissy fit. Ridiculous nonsense about Russia going to (nuclear) war against little old South Africa. One can only hope that in many years to come the ICC will catch up with Putin. Unlikely, but one never knows. Remember Pres. Milosevic of
Yugoslavia was sent by his political colleagues to face the ICC in the Hague and convicted! That’s what it would take.
Not before time. Ramaphosa, the ANC and by extension, South Africa, still have egg on their faces, but at least it’s something.
You’d expect our government has started enjoying the egg smell by now
Lavrov and kisses from Russia – Vladdie xx
Surely Lavrov, as with Putin, has the same ICC mandate that he should be arrested? Surely it applies to ALL Putin’s inner cabal?
Definitely Jon, he and the entire current ruling lot are all guilty of serious war crimes!
Damn! I was hoping RasPutin would send one of his body doubles that Cyril could put in jail.
Come on, did anyone ever actually think that disgusting coward (Putin that is) would ever leave Russia, even as a fake?
I do not think he was ever going to come. He has a few problems of his own closer to home. Perhaps Ramaphosa can learn something from that.
Illogical obfuscation, of course, but too mild. It was a simple no brainer, taking about 10 min to arrange. But then: no brains, and of course, if there was an opportuntiy for corruption, this obviously had to be explored.
Putin never intended to come, but it amused him to make the little ANC fools squirm.
I had a similar thought.
What a horrible organisation is the ANC! Not a shred of integrity. Bumble from one crisis to the next. They should arrest Labrov as an accessory to Putin’s crimes.
Quick : how do we arrange an arrest warrant for Lavrov?
Paranoid funk will keep him away. Warmongering coward. And he’s our friend? Who needs enemies with “friends” like this? He’s no friend of common decency, humanity or enlightenment. Just a companion of cutthroats rogues and other criminal riffraff. Makes me want to puke. And yet some among us, like Zuma, run to him to escape justice “for their health” after wrecking the ecenomy of the country. Depite the best efforts of the ANC government there are still highly competent medical practitioners in South Africa to dance attendance on Jacob’s medical maladies, so why subject himself, at vast expense to taxpayers, to some Russian medics who are probably no better qualified than our doctors. Oh , and if they are better qualified than our guys then you can safely lay blame for that at the door of the ANC government’s ignorant interference in stuff they are ill qualified to mess with. Read about the real reasons for load shedding and “trough feeding” in Andre de Ruyter’s “Truth To Power”. Hierarchy in the governing party loves things and prestige more than the people who vote for them. Opposition politicians preach to their converted in terms the converted understand. Time to understand the unconverted guys, and time to build fences to save the country from the current debacle that is in our faces daily. Monumental greed, arrrogance and incompetence must be sidelined. I’m going to check the Oxford dictionary for a definition of “KRAPTOCRACY”. If I don’t find it I’ll try Wackhead!
The Czar got cold feet!
Ah yes. Lavrov. As much a lying war criminal as Putin. We should be so grateful.
Does anybody know what BRICS does to improve the lives of South Africans ? I mean those who do not have enough “to eat”
Just looking at the photograph, it is like the three stooges, ala world criminals
Just when we thought that Ramaphosa and the ANC could not get any stupider, they did! Liars and cowards, all wrapped into one package.
So Cyril you think you are a Statesman? Great to see your influence on the Ukraine grain export deal collapse which will leave millions of your fellow Africans short of vital supplies this year. The hunger blood is on your hands