Lula says Putin can visit Brazil for G-20 without fear of arrest

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has risked a clash with fellow Group of 20 leaders after saying that Vladimir Putin would be safe to travel to next year’s G-20 without fear of arrest.

The Russian leader, who is subject to an international arrest warrant over his invasion of Ukraine, skipped India’s G-20 summit on its second and final day in New Delhi on September 10, according to Bloomberg.

Lula, as the Brazilian president is known, said in a video interview with Indian news platform Firstpost late on September 9 that Putin will get an invite to next year’s summit.

“I believe that Putin can easily go to Brazil,” Lula said. “What I can tell you is that if I am president of Brazil and he goes to Brazil there is no way he will be arrested.”

The International Criminal Court issued a warrant for Putin’s arrest in March for war crimes. But there was speculation that Putin would attend the BRICS summit in Johannesburg in August regardless, a friendlier grouping than the G-20 which includes key Russian trade partners China and India, as well as Brazil and South Africa. A month before, he decided not to attend “by mutual agreement” with South Africa.

While President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government has adopted a non-aligned stance toward Russia’s war and refused to join international sanctions on Russia, South Africa is a signatory to the charter that established the ICC, so is bound by its decisions and would be obliged to arrest Putin if he arrived in the country. Brazil, too, is a signatory of the charter.

Lula said that Russia will host the BRICS summit next year. “Everyone is going to the BRICS meeting and I hope they also come to the G-20 in Brazil,” he said.