Putin will not attend BRICS summit in Brazil due to ICC arrest warrant

PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen after a nationwide broadcast call in Moscow, Russia on June 15, 2017. (Reuters photo by Sergei Karpukhin)

MOSCOW  -  Russian President Vladimir Putin will not travel to next week's BRICS summit in Brazil because of an outstanding arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC), Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said on Wednesday.

The ICC issued the warrant in 2023, just over a year after Russia launched its full-scale war against Ukraine, accusing Putin of the war crime of deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. 

Russia denies allegations of war crimes and the Kremlin, which did not sign the ICC's founding treaty, has dismissed the warrant as null and void.

But it means that Putin needs to weigh the risk he might be arrested if he travels to another country that is a signatory to the ICC treaty.

In 2023 he decided against travelling to one such country, South Africa, for a BRICS summit. But last year he was given a red carpet welcome in Mongolia, even though it is an ICC member state.

Ushakov said Putin would take part via video link in the July 6-7 BRICS summit in Brazil.

"This is due to certain difficulties, in the context of the ICC requirement. In that context, the Brazilian government could not take a clear position that would allow our president to participate in this meeting," Ushakov said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will travel to the summit to represent Russia. According to media reports, Chinese President Xi Jinping will skip the summit.

 (Reporting by Vladimir SoldatkinWriting by Maxim RodionovEditing by Mark Trevelyan/Andrew Osborn // REUTERS)