“There has been no firm decision,” said Zane Dangor, director-general of the department of international relations, adding that ministers assigned to the matter would soon meet to consider a report setting out the options.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Thursday that reports the BRICS summit would be relocated to China from South Africa were fake, Interfax reported.Former President Thabo Mbeki, whose views on international relations hold a lot of sway among government officials, said in a May 25 interview with radio station 702 that the summit was unlikely to take place in South Africa.
A deputy minister, Obed Bapela, told Britain’s BBC on Tuesday that South Africa was planning to pass legislation that would give Pretoria the option to decide whether or not to arrest leaders wanted by the ICC.Bapela did not respond to requests for comment. However, a justice department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there wouldn’t be enough time to get such a law approved by parliament before the summit.
“These immunities do not override any warrant that may have been issued by any international tribunal against any attendee of the conference,” department spokesperson Clayson Monyela said.