🇿🇦🇷🇺 South African opposition vows to "protect" Putin from ICC arrest

South African opposition party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), has said Russian President Vladimir Putin is welcome to visit Pretoria despite an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against him.

The ICC, which South Africa is a signatory to, has accused Putin of war crimes. Putin is scheduled to travel to South Africa for the Brics summit in August.

EFF leader Julius Malema on Thursday said no-one was going to arrest Putin while in South Africa, a country where Russia "played a huge role to support the struggle for freedom". Malema said that the South African government should not give in to pressure from the ICC, which he accused of "hypocrisy".

"We know our friends. We know the people who liberated us. We know the people who supported us,” he added.

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