Ukraine’s Prosecutor General urges Brazil to arrest Putin if he attends G20 summit

Kostin made this statement in an interview with Reuters, according to Ukrinform.

Kostin emphasized: “Due to information that Putin may attend the G20 summit in Brazil I would like to reiterate that it's an obligation for the Brazilian authorities as a state party of the Rome Statute to arrest him if he dares to visit.”

"I truly he that Brazil will arrest him, reaffirming its status as a democracy and a state governed by the rule of law," he added.

The Prosecutor General believes that failure to arrest Putin could set a precedent, enabling leaders accused of crimes to travel freely with impunity.

According to the Brazilian officials, Brazil has extended a standard invitation to Putin for the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro on November 18-19 but has not received any response regarding his attendance plans.

Read also: ICC spokesman: judges yet to publish results of probe into Mongia's failure to arrest Putin

As reported by Ukrinform, in March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Putin on charges of war crimes, including the illegal deportation of children from Ukraine and the forced relocation of Ukrainians to Russia. However, Kremlin leader Putin met with his Mongian counterpart in Ulaanbaatar on September 3.

This marked Putin's first visit to a country that has ratified the Rome Statute and would thus be obligated to arrest him under the ICC warrant related to war crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine.

Mongia explained its decision not to arrest Putin, citing the country’s energy dependency, which complicates enforcing the ICC’s arrest order on the Russian leader.