Putin to Skip BRICS Summit in Rio Due to ICC Warrant

Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin will not appear at the upcoming BRICS summit in Brazil due to concerns around the International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant for his arrest, according to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov.

BRICS is an acronym for an intergovernmental organization and trade bloc that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. It has now expanded to 11 members, and its stated goal is to increase the influence of the Global South in global institutions.

The BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro is scheduled for July 6-7, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will attend in his stead while Putin will reportedly take part via video conference.

The ICC issued arrest warrants for Putin and his Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova in March 2023 for the crimes of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation (under articles 8(2)(a)(vii) and 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute)

Brazil signed the Rome Statute in 2000, making it a signatory to the ICC and under obligation to arrest Putin if he enters the country. 

“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. “The Brazilian government was unable to take a clear position that would allow our president to take part in this meeting.” 

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Putin and the Brazilian leader, Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva (often called simply “Lula”), have had a complicated partnership.

In 2023, following the ICC arrest warrant for Putin, Lula had initially pledged not to arrest Putin if he entered Brazil, but later changed his position.

“If Putin decides to go to Brazil, it will be the courts who decide whether or not he will be arrested, not me,” said Lula da Silva at a press conference in New Delhi in September 2023, according to Bloomberg.

Lula declined to attend the BRICS summit in Moscow in October 2024 after injuring his head, but did attend Putin’s May 9 Victory Day parade earlier this year. 

In May, Lula urged Putin to attend the peace negotiations in Istanbul Putin proposed himself, but the Russian leader failed to appear for the talks.