Putin's Brazil dilemma: ICC arrest warrant looms over G20 trip

In mid-November, a G20 summit is scheduled to begin in Brazil, and Russia is one of the member countries. Will Putin decide to personally attend the summit? It's important to recall that in March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague issued a warrant for his arrest. Meanwhile, Brazil is a signatory to the Rome Statute, which established the ICC.

"If I were Putin, if I were a lawyer advising Putin, I would tell him to be very careful about traveling to ICC member-states, because they have independent judicial actors, they have independent police and lawyers, they have active civil society members – can utilize the legal system in order to potentially compel it to act by virtue of those cooperation duties under the Rome Statute," Van Schaack said during an online press briefing when asked about the potential November trip of Putin to Brazil.

She mentioned that it remains uncertain whether Putin will go to Brazil. She pointed out that in the past, he has opted not to travel to other countries belonging to the ICC, including for the Mexican president's inauguration and the BRICS summit in South Africa.

A year ago, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said in an interview with the Indian portal Firstpost that Putin will be invited to the G20 meeting in Rio de Janeiro.

Lula expressed confidence that Putin could visit Brazil without fear of arrest, stating that if he were the Brazilian president, there would be no chance of such an action being taken. He emphasized the importance of respecting Brazil's sovereignty in this matter.