South African President Cyril Ramaphosa last week said arresting Russian President Vladimir Putin when he visits South Africa would be seen as a declaration of war against Moscow. Putin is scheduled to attend the BRICS summit in August , the Democratic Alliance, South Africa’s largest Opposition party has taken legal action to try and force authorities to arrest him on the basis of an International Criminal Court Warrant.

South Africa is a signatory to the ICC, but it refused to arrest Sudan’s then-President Omar al-Bashir when he was wanted for war crimes. Now, Ramaphosa argues that arresting Putin would damage national security and is at odds with the country’s constitution.

In an interview with the New York Times, Ramaphosa said South Africa was holding talks with Russia and Ukraine to end the ongoing war. He recently met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv and then traveled to St. Petersburg to meet face-to-face with Putin on a pathway to resolve Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he told the newspaper.

The situation has stoked tensions as Putin's visit nears. The president is consulting the other BRICS leaders on the matter and intends to push for an international ruling regarding the territory, with inclusiveness within the United Nations Security Council being one option. Ramaphosa said any hostilities were something he intended to avoid by finding a diplomatic solution.