Brazil's president Lula reverses stance on Putin's arrest at 2024 G20 Summit

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has reversed his stance from his personal guarantee that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not face arrest at the upcoming Group of 20 (G20) summit in Rio de Janeiro. He now asserted that it would be left to the judiciary to determine Putin's fate.

President Lula has also raised questions about Brazil's involvement in the United Nations war crimes court. Lula questioned, “I want to know why we are members but not the United States, not Russia, not India, not China." “I’m not saying I’m going to leave the court. I just want to know why Brazil is a signatory," he added.

Putin notably skipped the recent G20 summit in New Delhi. Earlier, he also did not attend the BRICS summit, apparently for the same reason.

The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin in March over his alleged involvement in the unlawful deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia.

Russian denial

The Kremlin has denied the war crime allegations against Putin, deeming the arrest warrant "void." In retaliation, Russia issued an arrest warrant for Karim Khan, the prosecutor at The Hague-based war crimes court, adding him to their "wanted list."

Brazil is bound by the Rome Statute, which established the ICC and obliges member states to comply with its arrest warrants.

Repercussions of Lula's statements

Lula's previous assurance that Putin would not be arrested generated criticism, with some experts and observers reportedly considering it damaging and unwarranted.

“If I’m the president of Brazil and if he [Putin] comes to Brazil, there’s no way that he will be arrested," Lula reportedly said.

Amid the backlash, Lula clarified his stance during a press conference in Brazil, stressing that he does not have the authority to determine Putin's detention in Brazil.

He said that it's ultimately up to the judiciary to decide.

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Putin has been avoiding international gatherings and instead sent his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to the G20 meeting in New Delhi. Notably, India is not an ICC signatory.

The next G20 summit is scheduled for November 2024 in Rio de Janeiro, with Lula expressing hope for an end to the war in Ukraine by then.

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