Putin talks a tough game, but when push came to shove, it was Putin that blinked.
Russia has an upcoming BRICS conference, and it is being hosted by South Africa.
The problem for Putin is that South Africa is in the International Criminal Court (ICC) treaty, which means if Putin goes to South Africa, he could be taken into custody for war crime allegations.
Not Going
This conference has put both Putin and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in a really bad spot.
Ramaphosa has been taking heat for months about this, and he was trying to find a way to get around the treaty, but the ICC was not hearing it.
In a recent statement, Ramaphosa said, “Russia has made it clear that arresting its sitting president would be a declaration of war.
“It would be against our Constitution to risk engaging in war with Russia.
“I have constitutional obligations to protect the national sovereignty, peace and security of the republic and to respect, protect, promote and fulfill the rights of the people of the republic to life, safety and security, among other rights in the Bill of Rights.”
It got to the point that South Africa was reportedly considering turning hosting duties over to China to avoid the problem.
However, Putin decided to back out, possibly doing a video call in to the meeting rather than traveling there in person.
Here is my question… if Putin truly believes he has not committed any war crimes, then what is he so worried about?
Source: Breitbart
