Vladimir Putin won’t be going to Brazil for the upcoming BRICS summit next month because of the pending ICC arrest warrant against him as the Russian leader, according to an announcement from the Kremlin on Wednesday.
The International Criminal Court at The Hague has issued an arrest warrant for Putin due to allegations of unlawful transfer of Ukrainian children following his directive to send forces into Ukraine starting from 2022.
Aide Kremlin official Yuri Ushakov informed journalists that President Putin will join the BRICS leaders' summit on July 6-7 in Rio de Janeiro through a video connection.
"This is because of specific challenges related to the ICC's criteria," he further explained.
Putin regularly praises the BRICS group as an alternative to what he criticizes as Western dominance in global affairs.
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A loosely connected group of nations known as BRIC, formed from its initial members—Brazil, Russia, India, and China—commits to enhancing trade and collaboration among them; however, this association isn’t a formal trading agreement and lacks strong institutional connections.
Brazil is part of the ICC and thus would be required to enforce the arrest warrant for Putin if he had attended the summit.
Last year, the head of the Kremlin undertook a prominent visit to Mongolia as a sign of defiance following the directive to apprehend him. This was his inaugural journey to a nation that is part of the International Criminal Court (ICC) since the court based in The Hague issued its arrest warrant in 2023.
Ulaanbaatar faced criticism from both the court and the European Union for allowing Putin to visit there.