President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil has caused a significant shift in the discussion surrounding the potential attendance of Russian President Vladimir Putin at the upcoming G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.
Initially, Lula had given his personal assurance that Putin would not be subject to arrest while attending the summit.
However, on Monday, he altered his stance, emphasizing that it would ultimately be up to Brazil's judiciary to decide whether Putin could face arrest.
This change has added a layer of uncertainty to the geopolitical dynamics surrounding the G20 event.
Brazil is a signatory to the Rome Statute, which led to the founding of the ICC.
Lula had earlier said; “If I’m the president of Brazil and if he [Putin] comes to Brazil, there’s no way that he will be arrested.”
He changed tack on Monday at a press conference in Brazil telling reporters: “I don’t know if Brazil’s justice will detain him. It’s the judiciary that decides, it’s not the government.”
The debate over Putin's potential arrest centres on an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant issued in March.
The ICC accused Putin of war crimes related to the alleged unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children. The Kremlin vehemently denies these accusations, dismissing the warrant against Putin as "void."
Russia has retaliated by issuing an arrest warrant for Karim Khan, the prosecutor at The Hague-based war crimes court, in May, further complicating the matter.
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