Kremlin confirms Putin won’t travel to Brazil for BRICS, cites ICC arrest risk

Russian President Vladimir Putin would not attend the upcoming BRICS summit, according to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov. As per the Kremlin aide, Putin would skip making an in-person appearance at the upcoming summit in Brazil due to concerns around the standing International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant for his arrest. As per reports in Putin's stead, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov would attend the BRICS Summit which is scheduled to happen on July 6-7 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. According to Ushakov, Putin won't completely skip the SCO summit. Here's how.

Marking his presence at SCO

Speaking to the press, Ushakov revealed that while Putin won't make an appearance at the Brazil SCO summit, he would join the main events via videoconference.

"The President will participate in the main events of this summit via video link. This is due to certain difficulties in the context of the ICC requirements," Ushakov said, as cited by Kyiv Post. He said that Putin took the decision to forego the SCO meeting because "The Brazilian government was unable to take a clear position that would allow our president to take part in this meeting."

Will Brazil arrest Putin?

As per reports, Putin and Brazilian leader, Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva, share a complicated relationship. In 2023, just after the ICC issued the arrest warrant for Putin, Lula initially pledged he wouldn't arrest the Russian president if he entered Brazil. However, he later changed his stance. In September 2023, speaking at a press conference in New Delhi, Lula declared that "If Putin decides to go to Brazil, it will be the courts who decide whether or not he will be arrested, not me".

Why does Putin have an ICC arrest warrant against him?

Russian President Vladimir Putin is currently facing an international arrest warrant. The warrant has been issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the Russian president's role in the alleged forced deportation of Ukrainian children. Reports claim that amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, Moscow has "stolen" thousands of Ukrainian children and has subjected them to "Russification".

According to Kyiv, more than 16,000 Ukrainian children have been deported to Russia since the start of Moscow's offensive in February 2022. The war-torn nation has alleged that many of these children have reportedly been placed in institutions and foster homes.

Russia has vehemently denied these allegations. Additionally, given that Russia is not a member of the ICC, the country has dismissed the validity of the arrest warrant and called it "void".