Brazilian President Lula da Silva is withdrawing his personal assurance that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be arrested if he attends next year’s G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.
Lula da Silva now says it is up to the judiciary to decide.
– I don’t know if Brazil’s justice system arrests him. It is the judiciary that decides, not the government, he stated on Monday.
This weekend, in connection with the G20 meeting in Delhi, India, a few eyebrows were raised after Lula da Silva declared to the Indian media that Putin will be welcome to the G20 meeting in Brazil next year.
Sent Lavrov
– Not a chance that he will be arrested if he comes to Brazil and I am the president of Brazil, he stated.
In March, the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague issued an international arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, among others, for involvement in the kidnapping of Ukrainian children during the war, which is classified as a war crime. Brazil is a member of the ICC.
On the other hand, India is not an ICC member, but Putin still chose not to travel there during the G20 meeting and instead sent Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Wondering about ICC membership
The next G20 meeting is scheduled to be held in Rio de Janeiro in November 2024, but by then Lula da Silva hopes that “the war will be over”.
At the same time, he cast doubt on Brazil’s membership of the ICC, stating that “developing countries often sign things that are harmful to them”.
– I want to know why we are members but not the USA, not Russia, not India, not China, said da Silva.
– I am not saying that I will leave the court, I just want to know why Brazil is one of the signatories.