South Africa will not invite Putin to the G20 summit due to the arrest warrant issued against him.
The Republic of South Africa (RSA), which is currently chairing the G20 and will host the G20 summit in its country, will not invite Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to the event. This is due to the existing arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for the Kremlin leader.
This was reported by RBK-Ukraine citing The Moscow Times.
The official spokesperson for the South African president, Vincent Magwenya, stated that "the legal situation has not changed since the BRICS summit in Johannesburg (a city in South Africa)."
He noted that South Africa "cannot influence" the ICC's decision, under which Putin must be arrested on the territory of countries that have ratified the Rome Statute, due to the forced deportation of Ukrainian children, which is classified as a war crime.
The G20 summit is scheduled to take place in Johannesburg on November 21-22, 2025.
The Impact of the ICC Warrant on Putin's Foreign Visits
Recall that the International Criminal Court issued an warrant for Putin's arrest and that of Maria Lvova-Belova, the Commissioner for Children's Rights under the President of Russia, on March 17, 2023.
In total, Putin should be detained in 123 countries that have ratified the Rome Statute or recognized the jurisdiction of the ICC.
In August of this year, Putin was unable to attend the BRICS summit in South Africa due to the arrest warrant from the Hague court.
The Russian dictator also chose not to take risks in November and declined to participate in the G20 summit in Brazil. The Kremlin leader explained his decision to skip the event by stating that he did not want to disrupt the "normal functioning" of the forum with his presence.
However, not all countries, despite ratifying the Rome Statute of the ICC, fulfill their corresponding obligations. For instance, on September 2, Mongolia did not arrest Putin. Official Ulaanbaatar explained its position by the country's dependence on Russian energy products.