MOSCOW, July 19. /TASS/. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has denied information that Russia allegedly signaled to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa that the arrest of its president Vladimir Putin on an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant at the BRICS summit would mean a declaration of war.

"No, we never said that. No one tried to make anyone understand anything. In this world, it is absolutely clear to everyone what it means to try to mess with the Russian head of state. So there is no need to explain anything to anyone here," Peskov told reporters on Wednesday in response to a related question.

According to the South African leader's office, Putin will not attend the BRICS summit in South Africa in August by mutual agreement, and Russia will be represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

On March 17, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova, alleging that they were responsible for the unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children. When commenting on the decision, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov pointed out that Russia did not recognize the International Criminal Court. In turn, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the decisions of the ICC had no meaning for Russia whatsoever, while any potential arrest warrants would be legally null and void.