President Cyril Ramaphosa has previously stated that South Africa would leave the International Criminal Court (ICC), but his administration denies this, blaming the ANC party as the source of the miscommunication.
The African National Congress agreed to withdraw South Africa from the court that last month issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to statements made by Ramaphosa hours earlier.
Because of the ICC warrant, South Africa, which will host the BRICS conference this year with Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, would be required to jail Putin upon his arrival.
“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 possibility of South Africa leaving the ICC had been brought up at a weekend meeting of the ANC’s national executive council, the ANC had earlier informed journalists.
In response to a query from a reporter, Ramaphosa said the ANC “has taken that decision that it is prudent that South Africa should pull out of the ICC” at a joint news conference with the visiting Finnish President Sauli Niinisto.
Ramaphosa “regrettably” “erroneously affirmed a similar position” to the ruling party, according to the presidency.
The ANC added in a separate statement late Tuesday that it was possible that a “unintended impression” that a categorical decision to withdraw immediately had been made had been made. This is untrue.
It stated that the “unequal” and “often selective application of international law by the ICC” had been reviewed by the executive committee, the party’s highest decision-making body.
Following allegations that the Kremlin had forcibly deported Ukrainian children, Putin was issued an arrest warrant.
In response to the question of whether South Africa would detain Putin, Ramaphosa stated, “That matter is under consideration.” Fikile Mbalula, the secretary general of the ANC, however, earlier stated that “Putin can come anytime in this country.”
Moscow and Pretoria have long-standing connections that go back to the time when the Kremlin supported the ANC’s struggle against apartheid.
The regional powerhouse, claiming it wants to remain neutral and favours talks to resolve the crisis, has declined to denounce the invasion of Ukraine, which has largely isolated Moscow on the international stage.
Ramaphosa stated that South Africa “adopted this stance of non-alignment to ensure that we are able to play a role as a country in helping conflict to come to an end.”
He claimed to have discussed the necessity of dialogue with Putin multiple times.
Ramaphosa said he respected Finland’s recent decision to join the military alliance, despite the fact that he blamed NATO for the crisis in Ukraine last year.
“It’s within Finland’s right to decide to join NATO. We respect that and we accept that,” said Ramaphosa as he hosted his Finnish counterpart, who is in South Africa for a three-day state visit.
After a controversy arose in 2015 when then-Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir visited the nation for an African Union meeting, South Africa attempted to leave the ICC in 2016. Despite the fact that an ICC arrest order for him for alleged war crimes was issued, it declined to take him into custody.
When a domestic court determined that such a step would have been unlawful, the decision to withdraw was overturned.
