(Bloemfontein) South Africa is not planning to quit the
International Criminal Court (ICC) as suggested earlier by President Cyril
Ramaphosa, his office says, citing a communication error from his ruling ANC
party. Hours earlier, Ramaphosa had said the African National Congress had
decided to withdraw South Africa from the court, which last month issued an
arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“The presidency wishes to clarify that
South Africa remains a signatory”
to the ICC, Ramaphosa’s office said on
Tuesday in a late-night statement. It said the “clarification follows an error
in a comment made during a media briefing held by the governing African
National Congress”. The ICC warrant means South Africa – due to host this
year’s BRICS summit of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – would
have to detain Putin on arrival.
