Putin is the target of an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant issued in March on suspicion of war crimes linked to the expulsion of Ukrainian children.

Since then, he has not visited all countries and missed international meetings such as the G20 summit, which ended today in New Delhi, where he was represented by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov .

Lula da Silva assured, in an interview on Indian television, that Putin would be invited to go to Rio de Janeiro.

“I can say that if I am president of Brazil and he comes to Brazil, there is no reason for him to be arrested,” Lula said, quoted by the French agency AFP.

Moscow denies the ICC accusations, saying the arrest warrant for the Russian leader is “null and void.”

The alleged crimes were committed as part of the war started by Russia with the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

Brazil is a signatory to the 1998 Rome Statute, the international treaty that led to the creation of the ICC in 2002, meaning that in theory it should arrest the Russian president if he enters Brazilian territory.

Lula recalled that the leaders of BRICS, a bloc of emerging countries that includes Brazil and Russia, will meet on Russian territory before the next G20 summit.

“Everyone is going to the BRICS summit, so I hope they will come to the G20 summit in Brazil. In Brazil they will feel a climate of peace,” Lula said.

“We like to take care of people. So I think Putin can easily come to Brazil,” he added.

The G20 brings together Germany, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, South Korea, the United States, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the European Union.

The African Union was admitted to the group on Saturday.

PNG//ZO

By Impala News / Lusa

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