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ICC Arrest Warrant Forces Putin to Join BRICS Summit via Video Link
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![Photo of Liubava Petriv]( "Photo of Liubava Petriv")
Russian leader Vladimir Putin will not travel to Brazil for the upcoming BRICS summit on July 6–7, opting instead to participate via video link. The decision comes amid ongoing concerns over an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant issued against him in 2023.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov confirmed the change in format, stating:
“The president will take part via video conference, but our foreign minister [Sergey Lavrov] will be present on site in Brazil.”
According to Ushakov, the decision was linked directly to legal uncertainties surrounding the ICC warrant:
“This is due to certain difficulties in the context of the ICC’s requirements,” he said. “In this context, the Brazilian government could not take a clear position that would allow our president to participate in this meeting in person.”
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As a signatory to the Rome Statute, Brazil, like all members of the ICC, would have been obligated to arrest Putin under the warrant issued in March 2023. The warrant also applies to Russian children’s rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova.
The ICC accuses both officials of responsibility for the unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children to Russian territory during the ongoing war in Ukraine. As a signatory to the Rome Statute, Brazil is legally obligated to comply with the court’s decisions, including the execution of arrest warrants.
While Brazil has not publicly stated how it would respond to Putin’s potential arrival, Ushakov’s comments suggest that Moscow did not receive the legal guarantees it was seeking.
Despite the warrant, Putin has previously traveled to Mongolia—another ICC member state—without being detained.
On June 25, Ukraine and the Council of Europe are set to sign an agreement to establish a special tribunal focused on the crime of aggression related to Russia’s full-scale invasion.
