South Africa says plans to host a summit bringing together Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) remain on course.

The BRICS nations will convene in Johannesburg, South Africa between August 22 and 24, 2023.

There have been calls to move the summit to China, where Russian President Vladimir Putin can attend without pressure being exerted for his arrest.

South Africa is a signatory of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued an arrest warrant against President Putin on March 17.

Plans uninterrupted

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, has said South Africa is proceeding with plans to host the BRICS summit, and that a request for a change of venue has not been made.

Magwenya did not comment when asked to confirm whether Putin would attend the summit, Reuters news agency reported.

In May, South African officials said they were contemplating moving the upcoming BRICS summit to China, which is not an ICC member state.

Despite South Africa's latest affirmation, the meeting venue could still be changed at the last minute.

Putin yet to respond

On Tuesday, South Africa's Minister of International Relations Naledi Pandor said President Putin was yet to respond to an invitation to the summit.

The letter was sent to Kremlin in March, days before the ICC issued an arrest warrant against Putin.

South Africa maintains it will not take sides in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva are all planning to attend, Pandor said.

The BRICS nations represent about 42% of the world population, 23% of global GDP and 30% of the global territory.

They aim to stabilise trade and international relations and reform international financial institutions.