Johannesburg, 22 July 2023 (dpa/MIA) - The South African government would have Russian President Vladimir Putin arrested if he entered the country, according to an affidavit by the Justice Ministry which the opposition Democratic Alliance published on Friday.

After months of uncertainty, South Africa and Russia announced this week that Putin would not be travelling to South Africa for a BRICS summit of Brazil, Russia, India and China in Johannesburg from August 22 to 24, but would join via video link.

The Democratic Alliance, together with human rights watchdog Amnesty International, had filed a lawsuit in the Pretoria High Court to force the government to arrest Putin if he were to enter the country.

Amnesty International South Africa executive director Shenilla Mohamed called the statement a "victory for the rule of law and international justice, but most importantly for the victims in Ukraine."

There is an international arrest warrant out for Putin for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, amid the full-scale invasion he launched nearly 17 months ago against Russia's neighbour.

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa said Moscow had warned South Africa that arresting Putin would be tantamount to a "declaration of war."

Ramaphosa had left it open for months whether South Africa would actually arrest Putin. South Africa was criticized in 2015 when it refused to arrest then Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir and hand him over to the court.

South Africa has signed the statutes of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, which issued Putin's arrest warrant, and was facing international pressure to execute the arrest warrant.

Photo: MIA archive