Putin won't attend G20 summit in Brazil, which would have to arrest him on ICC warrant

Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin has said he will not attend the Group of 20 summit in Brazil, which is a party to the Rome Statute and would be obliged to arrest him under an International Criminal Court warrant.

As reported by Russia's Interfax, Putin, when asked whether he was afraid of being arrested in Brazil under an ICC warrant, replied: "Well, am I going to come there on purpose to disrupt the normal work of this forum?"

"We all understand perfectly well that even if we exclude the ICC [International Criminal Court – ed.], all the talk will be about this. In fact, we will disrupt the work of the G20. For what?" he added during a meeting with journalists from the BRICS countries on Friday.

The Kremlin leader promised to find someone who "will adequately represent the interests of our country [Russia] in Brazil at a high level".

Vladimir Putin skipped last year's G20 summit in the Indian capital, avoiding possible political censure and any risk of arrest under the International Criminal Court warrant.

Brazilian President Lula da Silva has previously said that he will invite the Russian leader to this year's summit, and Brazil has also been open about the fact that it is "unlikely" that it will comply with the ICC arrest warrant.

At the same time, in September, Putin travelled to Mongolia, which is also a party to the Rome Statute, and avoided arrest.