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Ukraine's Prosecutor General Calls on Brazil to Arrest Putin on ICC Warrant
The Kremlin said that no decision has yet been made on whether President Putin will take part in the G20 summit in Brazil.
Reuters reported that Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin has called on Brazil to obtain an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin if he attends the G20 summit.
"I sincerely hope that Brazil will arrest him and reaffirm its status as a country with democracy and the rule of law," Costain told the agency.
On the eve, the official representative of the head of state Dmitry Peskov said that the decision regarding President Putin's visit to Brazil had not yet been made. He continued: "I will inform you when the decision is made."
Brazil has ratified the Rome Statute, which governs ICC arrests. Last March, the Hague court issued an arrest warrant for President Putin and children's ombudsman Maria Lbova-Belova, who are accused of "illegal deportation of residents (children) from occupied Ukraine to Russia" from February 24, 2022. The Kremlin said the decision was legally invalid because Moscow does not fall under the ICC's jurisdiction.
Last December, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said he would invite the Russian president to the G20 summit “regardless of whether President Putin comes or not.” “And if he does, he knows what will happen and what won’t,” Lula da Silva said. He said arrests are only possible by court order, and the Brazilian president does not judge whether those orders are carried out or not.
Putin did not visit South Africa in 2023, when the BRICS summit was held in Johannesburg on August 22-24. He took part in the event via video link. The South African authorities, which like Brazil has ratified the Rome Statute, discussed the issue directly with the Kremlin. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov went to South Africa instead of the president. Putin did not attend the G20 summit in New Delhi on September 9-10, despite an invitation from the Indian authorities. The Kremlin said that Putin "has a very busy schedule and, of course, the main focus remains on special military operations." India has not ratified the Rome Statute. President Putin visited Mongolia in September this year, but the country refused to arrest him despite the ICC warrant. The authorities explained the refusal by dependence on energy and the policy of neutrality.