Russian President Vladimir Putin will take part in the summit of BRICS leaders in South Africa via video link, spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. The host nation announced earlier on Wednesday that the Russian leader will not attend the high-profile event in person.
Putin’s contribution to the gathering next month will be “comprehensive” despite its remote nature, Peskov told the Russian media on Wednesday. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will travel to Johannesburg in person to serve as Moscow’s representative, he added, confirming a previous statement by the South African government.
Earlier in the day, the office of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the two nations had agreed that Putin would not travel to the country, sending Lavrov instead.
South Africa is a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which in March charged Putin with “kidnaping” Ukrainian children. Moscow dismissed the accusation as politically motivated, baseless, and coming
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