French President Emmanuel Macron could participate in the Brics summit in South Africa in August, his foreign minister having indicated on Tuesday, June 20, that he had made known in Pretoria “the availability and interest of President Macron”. The BRICS are made up of five countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
“I reported to my counterpart Ms. Pandor […] the availability of the president and his interest in continuing the dialogue that France maintains with the Brics”, declared Catherine Colonna to the press at the end of an official visit. in South Africa. The decision to invite Mr. Macron “must be made not by France but by the Brics and foremost among them South Africa, which is the inviting power of the summit”, specified the minister.
The day before, during a joint press conference with the head of South African diplomacy, Naledi Pandor, Ms. Colonna had specified that such an invitation should be made “with full respect for international law”, in reference to the possible coming to the top of Vladimir Putin. The Russian president is targeted by an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the war crime of “deporting” Ukrainian children as part of Moscow’s offensive against Ukraine.
This arrest warrant embarrasses Pretoria, close to the Kremlin since the days of the struggle against apartheid, but a member of the ICC and supposed to arrest Mr. Putin if he sets foot on its soil. Pretoria has refused to condemn Moscow since the start of the war in Ukraine, claiming to adopt a neutral position and want to promote dialogue, which irritates many partners on the international scene.
“The participation of President Macron, if it were to take place, would constitute a first in the practices adopted so far at the summits of the Brics”, for her part underlined Monday Ms. Pandor. “It is the host who determines who should be invited,” she added, adding that the decision rests with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.