Brazilian President says Putin will not be arrested during 2024 G20 meeting

Reuters reported the information.

On the sidelines of the G20 meeting in New Delhi, Lula said that Putin would be invited to the event in 2024.

He added that he himself plans to attend a meeting of the BRICS bloc, which is to be held in Russia before the meeting in Rio.

"I believe that Putin can go easily to Brazil. What I can say to you is that if I'm president of Brazil, and he comes to Brazil, there's no way he will be arrested," the Brazilian leader emphasized.

Putin's arrest warrant

On March 17, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Russian Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova. They are suspected of forcibly deporting Ukrainian children. Russia, on the other hand, denies the involvement of its military in war crimes or the forcible relocation of Ukrainian children.

Brazil hinted that Putin could be arrested in the country on the basis of a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court.

Commenting on the decision of the International Criminal Court, Ukraine's Foreign Minister said that "the wheels of justice are turning," while Human Rights Watch called the arrest warrant for Putin a "wake-up call" for those who commit or conceal abuses.

Later, these countries' comments were joined by representatives of the United Kingdom and Canada, who unequivocally supported the court's position. Also, US President Joe Biden said that the ICC's arrest warrant for Putin was justified because the Russian president had committed war crimes.

Lawyer Kateryna Busol believed that South Africa would try to persuade Putin not to attend the BRICS summit in August. Later, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said he planned to attend a meeting of BRICS foreign ministers in South Africa on June 1-2.

In mid-April, South Africa emphasized that the arrest warrant for Russian leader Vladimir Putin issued by a court in The Hague was putting a spoke in their wheel before the BRICS summit in August.

On April 26, South Africa announced that it will not withdraw from the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, which issued the arrest warrant for Putin. 

On May 1, the South African authorities informally warned Russia that they would be forced to arrest Putin under an ICC warrant if he entered the country for the BRICS summit.

On May 30, South Africa announced that it would not overturn the ICC's decisions, but would grant diplomatic immunity to participants in the BRICS summit in August.

Later, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa stated under oath that the Kremlin had threatened him with war if Putin was arrested during the BRICS summit.

On July 19, it became known that Russia was to be physically represented at the BRICS summit, which took place on August 22-24 in South Africa, by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Russian President Vladimir Putin took part online. The US State Department called Putin an "international pariah."

Subsequently, the South African Prosecutor's Office received an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin: he could be arrested if he comes to South Africa.

In August, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said that he could issue new arrest warrants for Putin, in particular for war crimes committed by Wagner PMC.