Putin's potential G20 visit to Brazil raises legal tensions
U.S. Ambassador for Global Justice Beth Van Schaack warned Putin on Thursday against travelling to Brazil. "If I were a lawyer advising Putin, I would tell him to be very cautious when travelling to countries that belong to the International Criminal Court," she stated.
A G20 summit is set to begin in mid-November in Brazil. Russia is one of the group's member countries. Will Putin decide to attend the summit personally? It's important to remember that in March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague issued a warrant for his arrest. Meanwhile, Brazil is a signatory to the Rome Statute, which led to the establishment of the ICC.
Van Schaack elaborated, "If I were Putin, if I were a lawyer advising Putin, I would tell him to be very careful about traveling to ICC member-states, because they have independent judicial actors, they have independent police and lawyers, they have active civil society members – can utilize the legal system in order to potentially compel it to act by virtue of those cooperation duties under the Rome Statute." During an online press briefing, she made these remarks when asked about the possibility of Putin visiting Brazil in November.
However, she said it's still uncertain whether Putin will travel to Brazil. She noted that he has cancelled trips to other ICC member countries in the past, including recently for the inauguration of Mexico's president and the BRICS summit in South Africa.
It's worth recalling that a year ago, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva stated in an interview with the Indian portal Firstpost that Putin would be invited to the G20 meeting in Rio de Janeiro.
Lula stated that if he were President of Brazil, Putin could visit the country without the risk of arrest. He emphasized that Brazil's sovereignty should be respected.
