South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa has retracted his comments on the country's withdrawal from the International Criminal Court.
On Tuesday, Mr Ramaphosa said the ruling African National Congress party had resolved to quit the war crimes court, which last month issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He made the remarks during a joint news conference with visiting Finnish President Sauli Niinisto.
The continental powerhouse is due to host a summit of Brics - consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - in July this year and is obligated as an ICC member country to arrest President Putin on arrival.
However the presidency said Mr Rampahosa's comments were made in error.
"South Africa remains a signatory to the Rome Statute and will continue to campaign for equal and consistent application of international law," it said in a statement.
In a separate statement, the ANC said an “unintended impression may have been created that a categorical decision for an immediate withdrawal had been taken. This is not so.”
South Africa has refused to condemn the invasion of Ukraine which has largely isolated Moscow on the international stage, saying it wants to stay neutral and prefers dialogue to end the war.
It is not the first time South Africa has attempted to withdraw from the ICC.
In 2015 it refused to arrest the then Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir when he visited the country for an African Union summit.
He was facing an ICC arrest warrant over alleged war crimes. The decision was later ruled by a domestic court to have been unconstitutional.
