In Brazil, the decision on whether to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin if he visits the country for the G20 summit in 2024 is up to the countryʼs judiciary.
On September 11, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told journalists in India, where the G20 summit was held.
"If Putin decides to come to Brazil, it will be up to the judiciary, not my government," Lula noted.
However, a little earlier, on September 9, he said that Putin will not be arrested if he comes to Brazil for the summit in Rio de Janeiro in 2024. "I believe that Putin can easily go to Brazil. What I can tell you is that as long as I am the president of Brazil and he comes to Brazil, he will not be arrested at all," Lula said then in an interview with the Indian publication Firstpost.
- On March 17, 2023, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin and the Russian presidential commissioner for childrenʼs rights Maria Lvova-Belova due to the deportation of Ukrainian children. Since then, a country that has ratified the Rome Statute, if Putin comes to it, must arrest him — Brazil has ratified.
- Because of the Rome Statute and possible arrest, Putin canceled a trip to South Africa for the BRICS summit. He was replaced by Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov.