South Africa prepares for Putin’s visit for BRICS August summit

MOSCOW, Apr 10 (PRIME) -- South Africa is preparing for the August summit of the BRICS countries that should be visited by all the leaders of the countries, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, South Africa’s Sherpa in BRICS Anil Sooklal told PRIME on April 8.

Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier that a decision on the president’s participation had not been made yet.

“We have a confirmation that all the leaders will participate in the summit,” Sooklal said, adding that the leaders will partake in the summit in person and Russia has not denied that yet.

“Yes, all the leaders will visit the summit. Russia has not said otherwise. The invitation was sent by (South African President Cyril) Ramaphosa, President Putin thanked him, and we are preparing for the leaders to be present in South Africa. Our cabinet of ministers is discussing this, but we are preparing for a fully-fledged summit,” he said.

South Africa thinks that only the sanctions initiated by the U.N. are fair, and stands against unilateral sanctions.

“South Africa does not welcome unilateral sanctions. We are a part of the United Nations, and we respect only the U.N. approved sanctions. The U.N. has introduced no sanctions against Russia, there are only unilateral sanctions that we did not join, therefore our relations with Russia are as strong as ever,” Sooklal said.

Pressure of the Western countries only strengthened cooperation within the BRICS alliance, he added.

The BRICS unites Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

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