South Africa says it is "aware of the legal obligations" under the Hague order

South African presidential spokesman Vincent Magvena said South Africa was aware of its legal obligations over the arrest warrant for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin issued by the International Criminal Court on Friday. This was reported by Reuters.

We as a government are aware of our legal obligations. However, from now until the summit, we will continue to cooperate with various stakeholders. We take note of the arrest warrant report that was issued by the ICC. The Republic of South Africa remains committed and very much desires that the conflict in Ukraine be resolved peacefully, through negotiations," said Vincent Maguenya, spokesperson for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Putin is expected to visit South Africa in August to attend the BRICS summit.

It should be noted that South Africa has not condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Earlier, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Russian children's rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova, who are considered responsible for the deportation of Ukrainian adults and children to Russia.

States that are parties to the Rome Statute (of which there are 123 and South Africa among them), once such a warrant has been issued, must arrest the Russian president if he appears on their territory.