Arresting Putin in South Africa would be “declaration of war”, says South African President Cyril Ramaphosa

Ramaphosa made the warning with weeks to go before an international meeting happens in Johannesburg, to which the Russian president is invited.

But if Putin leaves Russian soil, he will be subject to an International Criminal Court arrest warrant.

South Africa is an ICC signatory and should therefore help in his arrest, yet it has refused to honor that obligation in the past, allowing safe passage in 2015 to Sudan’s then-President Omar Al-Bashir who was wanted for war crimes against his own people.

Putin has been invited to South Africa in August, when the country hosts a summit for members of the Brics countries, an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

This bloc of fast-growing economies is seen by some as an alternative to the G7 group of advanced economies.