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Bongani Ndlovu, Online Reporter

The South African Presidency has confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be attending the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Summit in Johannesburg next month.

In a statement, The Presidency said Russia would be represented by the country’s foreign minister – Sergey Lavrov.

Lavrov attended the BRICS foreign ministers meeting in Cape Town last month.

“By mutual agreement, President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation will not attend the Summit but the Russian Federation will be represented by Foreign Minister, Mr Sergey Lavrov.

“In due course, a comprehensive statement on the substantive issues to be covered at the Summit and other related foreign policy matters will be issued.

“President Ramaphosa is confident that the Summit will be a success and calls on the nation to extend the necessary hospitality to the many delegates who will arrive from various parts of the continent and the globe,” read part of the statement from the South African Presidency.

The Presidency added that the summit would be attended by other BRICS leaders from Brazil, India and China.