Cape Town – The leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Julius Malema, has urged Brics leaders not to attend the upcoming summit in South Africa in solidarity with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who will not be present at the meeting.
Malema expressed strong criticism of the South African government’s commitment to arresting Putin based on an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant.
During an event in Johannesburg celebrating his party’s 10-year anniversary, Malema called on Brics heads of state to boycott the summit, supporting Putin and emphasising that Russia is not a signatory to the ICC.
He argued that the establishment of Brics was meant to provide an alternative platform and avoid such controversial arrangements.
“We called for Brics heads of state to stay away in solidarity with President Putin because today is President Putin tomorrow it be the Chinese President, Indian President or even the President of Brazil. So, in solidarity with President Putin they must send their minister and say we are not coming, because the establishment of Brics was to create an alternative platform to avoid this type of nonsensical arrangement. Russia is not a signatory to ICC. And why would South Africa want to arrest people who are not signatory to ICC,” Malema said during an interview with SABC.
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