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South Africa not to pass national leaders’ immunity bill before Johannesburg BRICS summit

Earlier, South African officials said that such an immunity law could be enacted to avoid future problems with heads of state visiting the country

MOSCOW, August 4. /TASS/. South Africa will not pass a bill providing immunity to heads of state before the BRICS summit scheduled for August 22-24 in Johannesburg, South African Presidential Adviser Joseph Pu told TASS.

"No, we didn’t manage to do it [pass the bill] before the summit. There is currently no work being carried out on it," he said.

The advisor explained that the South African constitution currently allows both individuals and non-governmental organizations to file motions requesting that a court order the government to execute an international arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. "That's why such a problem arose with the [potential] arrival of the Russian leader," he said.

Earlier, South African officials said that such an immunity law could be enacted to avoid future problems with heads of state visiting the country.

BRICS includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The group's summit will be held in Johannesburg on August 22-24, in which Russian President Vladimir Putin will participate in an online format. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will travel to Johannesburg to represent Russia at the summit in person.

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