US / RUSSIA RELATIONS: Namibian President, Hage Geingob, has criticised countries that are not signatories to the International Criminal Court's Rome Statute, for insisting that Russian President Vladimir Putin be arrested and handed over to the ICC.

US / RUSSIA RELATIONS Namibian President, Hage Geingob, has criticised countries that are not signatories to the International Criminal Court's Rome Statute, for insisting that Russian President Vladimir Putin be arrested and handed over to the ICC. President Geingob is on a state visit to South Africa. He held talks with President Cyril Ramaphosa at the Union Buildings in Pretoria. Geingob says western countries should not dictate how the African continent should conduct its affairs. The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant on March 17th against the Russian President for alleged war crimes in Ukraine The ICC warrant against Putin stems from accusations that Russia unlawfully deported Ukrainian children. During an question and answer session, Ramaphosa said South Africa had invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend the summit, but he would not be drawn on what actions the government would take on the matter. Guest: Mighty Jaime – Researcher, Analyst and political analyst Suggested Talking Points: -SA would be required to detain him on arrival, considering SA's foreign policy, particularly bearing history in mind, what are the chances that he would be detained here? -South Africa’s foreign policy under President Cyril Ramaphosa has shifted to a strong emphasis on economic diplomacy, does / would SA fair better with Russia as an ally than an enemy? How has this contributed to the SA/RUSSIA relations? -What do the principles of non-alignment, which characterise SA’s foreign policy under President Cyril Ramaphosa dictate in such a situation? -Legally what are South African government’s obligations? -Should SA decide not to do as largely expected and detain Putin, what reaction, backlash if any can be expected from the international community? -Is SA’s current neutrality on the Russia / Ukraine war helping or hurting the country? -What has been SA’s position historically on similar conflict? E.g Israel & Palestine. What informs this position?