Brazil's President Lula Assures Putin Won't Be Arrested During G20 Meeting In Rio

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not face arrest in Brazil should he attend the Group of 20 (G20) summit scheduled for Rio de Janeiro next year.

President Lula made this statement during an interview with the Firstpost news show while participating in the G20 meeting in Delhi.

Lula expressed his intention to invite Putin to the upcoming G20 event and mentioned his own plans to attend a BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) meeting set to take place in Russia before the Rio gathering.

“I believe that Putin can go easily to Brazil,” Lula affirmed. “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.”

This declaration comes in the wake of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issuing an arrest warrant against Putin in March.

The ICC accused Putin of war crimes, specifically the illegal deportation of hundreds of children from Ukraine.

Russia has consistently denied such accusations, asserting that its forces have not committed war crimes or forcibly removed Ukrainian children from the country.

Putin’s absence from international meetings has been notable since the ICC’s announcement. During the recent G20 meeting in Delhi, the Russian president was not present, and instead, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov represented Russia.

Brazil, as a signatory to the Rome Statute that established the ICC, is obligated to cooperate with the court’s directives.

As for the recent G20 summit in Delhi, the participating nations adopted a consensus declaration that refrained from directly condemning Russia for its actions in Ukraine.

However, it did call on all states to refrain from using force to acquire territory.

This consensus was somewhat unexpected given the deep divisions within the G20 regarding the situation in Ukraine.

Western nations had initially pushed for a stronger condemnation of Russia in the Leaders’ Declaration, while other member states advocated for a focus on broader economic matters.

The declaration emphasized the importance of upholding international law principles, including territorial integrity and sovereignty, international humanitarian law, and the multilateral system that safeguards peace and stability.

It also welcomed any initiatives aimed at achieving a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in Ukraine while unequivocally denouncing the use or threat of nuclear weapons.

Lula’s office has not yet responded to requests for comment regarding his statement on Putin’s potential visit to Brazil.