Lula: Coming to Brazil, Putin will not be arrested by the ICC

The Brazilian president said his Russian counterpart could come and go to his country without any problems, and he invited the leaders of Russia and China to attend the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Monday (11/9/2023) as quoted by Reuters implicitly alluded to the decision of the International Criminal Court, ICC to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin. At the same time, the Brazilian President said, "In our country, the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, will not be arrested." "If Putin comes to Brazil to attend the G20 summit next year, in Rio de Janeiro, then he will not be arrested, he can come and go without any problems," he said. On the sidelines of the G20 Summit in New Delhi, India, Lula officially invited Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, next year.

He emphasized, "I don't know why Putin and Xi are not here (G20 India Summit), but I will invite them, and I hope they will come to Brazil, to attend the next G20 meeting." As is known by the International Criminal Court, the ICC last March ordered the arrest of the Russian President because he was accused of being involved in war crimes in Ukraine. Since then Putin has not attended international events including the G20 Summit in India. The Brazilian president stressed, "I'm sure Putin can go to Brazil easily. What I can tell you is that if I were the President of Brazil, and he came to Brazil, there would be no way to catch him." (HS)