Siyabonga Mkhwanazi
The EFF has accused South Africa of bowing to pressure from the West by agreeing that Russian leader Vladimir Putin should not attend the BRICS summit.
But the DA claimed victory, saying it forced the government to stop Putin from coming after it lodged a court application that the government is obliged to arrest Putin.
The EFF said, however, this decision was not unexpected, given the pressure placed on South Africa by Western countries, including the US.
It said Pretoria has even been threatened to be removed from the African Growth and Opportunity Act.
The EFF further said there have been a number of instances where the West has undermined South Africa.
This includes the conduct of US ambassador Reuben Brigety when he alleged that South Africa supplied arms to Russia.
The EFF said South Africa failed to guarantee security for Putin when he came to the country.
“This outcome is not unexpected considering the lack of security guarantees by the ANC government to the Russian Federation, which failed to protect not only a strategic global partner, but also a historical ally in our fight against colonial domination and imperialism,” said the EFF.
DA leader John Steenhuisen said the decision that Putin will no longer come to South Africa was a victory for the country.
“This decision follows the DA’s application in the Gauteng High Court to force the South African government to arrest Putin if he set foot in our country, as demanded by an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant,” said Steenhuisen.
He said this decision was to save the country’s economic interests.
He added that no one was above the law and the rule of law must be respected by everyone.
Politics