The Brazilian president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has indicated that Vladimir Putin will receive an invitation to the 2024 Group of Twenty summit, even as the International Criminal Court moves forward with its proceedings. The statement was reported by Correio Brazil.
Lula da Silva asserted that Putin will be invited regardless of the ICC actions, noting that the president should weigh the implications of attending. He added that the decision regarding Putin rests with Putin himself, underscoring that the Kremlin would understand the potential consequences ahead of the summit.
According to Lula da Silva, Russia, similar to the United States, does not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC. The Brazilian leader pointed out that Brazil bears responsibility in this matter since it is a signatory to the court’s statutes.
In related remarks, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa discussed the possibility of arresting Putin under the ICC order issued in Pretoria, tying the issue to broader tensions and acts of conflict involving Russia.
On March 17, 2023, the pre-trial chamber of the ICC in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and for Maria Lvova-Belova, the Presidential Commissioner for the Rights of the Child. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that Moscow does not consider the ICC decision binding or a factor in its calculations regarding the administration of the state. He signaled that the Kremlin did not view the arrest warrant as having practical importance for its policy choices.
Earlier reports suggested that the European Parliament anticipated an ICC arrest warrant for Lukashenko, though no definitive action materialized at that time. The ongoing dialogue around these legal instruments continues to influence international diplomacy and the framing of upcoming discussions within the G20 framework.