Perhaps the most important consequence of this decision is what will now be averted. There is plenty of evidence that the issue had deepened the dividing lines in our society.

The confirmation from the Presidency that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the BRICS head of state summit "by mutual agreement" is great news for President Cyril Ramaphosa.

It suggests that he has the power to influence Putin at a time when very few others have this ability. It also averts a focal point for great division in our society.

But the debate about whether we are truly "non-aligned" or support Russia will continue, mainly because it is really a debate about whether we look to the West or to other countries for our future direction.

The real reasons behind Putin's decision to not attend the BRICS Summit will probably never be explicitly stated. Certainly, he has many domestic reasons not to leave Russia, not least of which was the apparent mutiny by Yevgeny Prigozhin and his Wagner mercenaries a few weeks ago.

As previously stated, in the real world, Putin was always unlikely to leave his own country and region at this particular time, even if such a chance to show his authority on the global stage was difficult to pass up.

Perhaps the most important consequence of this decision is what will now be averted. There...