Russian President Vladimir Putin will not travel to next week’s BRICS summit in Brazil due to an 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, a little over a year after Russia launched its full-scale war against Ukraine, accusing Putin of war crimes for the deportation of hundreds of children from Ukraine.
Russia denies the war crimes allegations, and the Kremlin — which never signed the ICC’s founding treaty — has dismissed the warrant as invalid.
However, this means Putin must weigh the risk of being arrested if he travels to any country that is a signatory to the ICC treaty.
In 2023, he chose not to travel to such a country — South Africa — for a BRICS summit.
But last year, he was given a red carpet welcome in Mongolia, despite it being an ICC member state.
Ushakov said Putin will participate via video link in the BRICS summit scheduled for July 6–7 in Brazil.
