Cyril Ramaphosa News

State Antony Blinken on Thursday pressed African leaders attending a summit with Russia's Vladimir Putin to demand answers about a grain crisis that has propelled poorer nations towards crisis. Speaking ahead of a Russia-Africa sitdown in Putin's hometown of Saint Petersburg, Blinken insisted African leaders knew rising food costs, grain and fertiliser shortages were a direct result of Putin's war in Ukraine. Several African leaders including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa are expected to attend the Konstantinovsky Palace summit.

South Africa says Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend an economic summit in Johannesburg next month

Vladimir Putin will not attend a BRICS nations summit in South Africa next month, the country's presidency said on Wednesday, ending months of speculation. Putin's potential visit has been a thorny diplomatic issue for South Africa. The Russian leader is the target of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant — a provision that Pretoria as an ICC member would be expected to implement were he to set foot in the country. «By mutual agreement, President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation will not attend the summit, but the Russian Federation will be represented by Foreign Minister Mr (Sergei) Lavrov,» Vincent Magwenya, a spokesman for President Cyril Ramaphosa, said in a statement. The decision follows «a number of consultations» held by Ramaphosa in recent months, the most recent of which took place «last night,» Magwenya said.

Russian president is invited. He was responding to a petition by South Africa’s largest opposition political party, the Democratic Alliance, that asked a court in Pretoria to force the government to arrest Putin if he attended the summit. Putin is the subject of an arrest warrant as per the International Criminal Court (ICC) if he leaves Russian soil.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa Sunday confirmed that the BRICS summit scheduled to be held next month, which Vladimir Putin has been invited to attend, will be ‘physical’ despite an arrest warrant against the Russian leader, reported AFP. South Africa is the current chair of the BRICS, a grouping of heavyweights that also includes Brazil, Russia, India and China and is set to host the 15th BRICS summit at the Sandton Convention Centre in its financial hub Johannesburg from August 22 to 24. "The BRICS summit is going ahead and we are finalising our discussions on the format," AFP reported quoting Ramaphosa, adding it will be a "physical" meeting.

Desmond Tutu, South Africa’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist for racial justice and LGBT rights and retired Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, has died at age 90, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced Sunday.

French President Emmanuel Macron will meet Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Budapest on Monday, hoping to secure his backing on topics including investment, nuclear power and European defence ahead of the French Presidency of the European Union.