South African government has officially applied for an arrest warrant for Putin

The South African government has officially applied to the court for an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin if he comes to the country.

This step was taken after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Putin on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine, according to the website of the opposition Democratic Alliance party.

South Africa is formally obliged to comply with the requirements of the ICC, but the country's leadership has made no secret of the fact that it has no desire to arrest the Russian president.

However, the South African government has not found any legal way to avoid complying with the warrant. In recent days, South African leaders have been openly saying that they had asked Putin not to come, and the day before yesterday he did decide not to go, although not necessarily out of fear of being arrested.

South Africa's opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, said the government's decision to go to court was a concession to its demands. The party had previously petitioned the court to order the government to execute the arrest warrant for Putin.

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The South African government's decision has been criticised by some experts who said it could worsen relations between South Africa and Russia. However, the South African government has stated that it is forced to act in accordance with international law.

It remains to be seen whether Putin will be arrested if he comes to South Africa. However, the government's decision to go to court is a significant step that shows that South Africa is taking the ICC's demands seriously.

As a reminder, on 3 March 2022, the Criminal Court in The Hague launched an investigation into war crimes committed by the Russian Federation.

On 17 March 2023, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued international arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Children's Ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova. They are accused of the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children.

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