Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva promises not to arrest Russian dictator Vladimir Putin if he attends the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) in 2024, He made this statement during the G20 summit in New Delhi, Bild reports.
According to the President of Brazil, despite the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin, there is supposedly no risk to the Russian dictator if he were to visit Brazil.
“While I am the President of Brazil, and if he comes to Brazil, he will definitely not be arrested… We love peace and treat people well. So, I believe Putin can safely travel to Brazil,” said Lula.
The next G20 meeting will take place next year in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. According to Lula, Putin is supposedly going to be invited to the summit.
Arrest warrant for Putin
On 17 March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and the Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the President, Maria Lvova-Belova. The ICC alleges that both individuals are responsible for committing war crimes, specifically the unlawful deportation and transfer of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia
According to the ICC, there are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Putin and Ms. Lvova-Belova bear individual criminal responsibility for their actions, whether directly or through others. The crimes were allegedly committed in the occupied territory of Ukraine from at least 24 February 2022, when the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine began.
Putin has repeatedly skipped international gatherings and was not present at the G20 get-together in Delhi, sending Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Brazil is a signatory to the Rome Statute which led to the founding of the ICC. Lula’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Saturday (September 9,2023), the G20 nations adopted a consensus declaration that avoided condemning Russia for the war in Ukraine but called on all states not to use force to grab territory.