President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva rowed back on Monday from saying Brazil would ignore a war crimes arrest warrant for Russian President Putin, while saying he would review Brazil’s membership in the International Criminal Court. On Saturday, while in India for G20 meeting, Lula told a local interviewer that there was “no way” Putin would be arrested if he attended next year’s summit, which is due to be held in Rio de Janeiro.
Brazil is a signatory to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which obliges members to comply with its arrest warrants. The court issued a warrant for Putin’s arrest in March, accusing him of the war crime of deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. Putin has yet to travel abroad since the ICC sought his arrest.
“If Putin decides to join (next year’s summit), it is the judiciary’s power to decide (on a possible arrest) and not my government,” Lula said at a presser on Monday. He said he would review why Brazil had signed up to the ICC treaty: “I want to know why the US, India, China didn’t sign the ICC treaty and why our country signed it.” reuters
Brazil is a signatory to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which obliges members to comply with its arrest warrants. The court issued a warrant for Putin’s arrest in March, accusing him of the war crime of deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. Putin has yet to travel abroad since the ICC sought his arrest.
“If Putin decides to join (next year’s summit), it is the judiciary’s power to decide (on a possible arrest) and not my government,” Lula said at a presser on Monday. He said he would review why Brazil had signed up to the ICC treaty: “I want to know why the US, India, China didn’t sign the ICC treaty and why our country signed it.” reuters