Putin wants to attend an August summit. Host country South Africa doesn’t want to have to arrest him

By GERALD IMRAY
Associated Press

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South Africa’s deputy president says Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to attend an economic summit in South Africa next month but the country is trying to persuade him to stay away to avoid the legal and diplomatic fallout over his international arrest warrant. South Africa is a signatory to the treaty on the International Criminal Court, which means it’s obliged to arrest Putin on an indictment issued against him for war crimes in Ukraine. South African authorities are likely to breach the treaty and not arrest Putin, but allowing him to attend the summit freely would strain relations with the West.