Vladimir Putin is not attending the Brics summit in Johannesburg, but a pre-recorded message from the Russian president was broadcast on large screens to hundreds of international and local delegates at Tuesday's opening.
As minister of trade and industry Ebrahim Patel introduced Putin's address, the audience cheered and clapped loudly.
Putin spoke candidly about the importance of a strong Brics and "illegitimate" sanctions imposed on his country by the West.
In July, Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said: "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 Sergey Lavrov."
The decision came after a debate around Putin's arrest should he set foot in South Africa. The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant of arrest for him for "war crimes" during his country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, some social media users commented on Putin's voice, which sounded distorted when the video was played.
Not special effects? Like deepfake and forgot to turn on the correct sound mode. Very interesting.
— Pan (@antony67) August 22, 2023
At the #BRICS summit, #Putin's address was shown with a completely different voice. pic.twitter.com/YtNjN0reev
Putin is “not able to join” the BRICS summit in person, so he’s addressing by video. I’m pretty sure this isn’t his voice, though. Peculiar… pic.twitter.com/y3g4Ttk4WG
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) August 22, 2023
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