Putin Skips Brazil BRICS Summit Over ICC Warrant

Putin Skips Brazil BRICS Summit Over ICC Warrant

The ICC issued an arrest warrant against Putin in 2023, accusing him of the war crime of deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion.

RMN News World Desk
June 28, 2025

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Russian President Vladimir Putin will not travel to Brazil for the upcoming BRICS Summit scheduled for early next month, a Kremlin aide announced on Wednesday. Instead, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will represent Russia in person, with President Putin participating via video link.

Brazil, as the current rotating chair of BRICS, is set to host its 17th summit in Rio de Janeiro on July 6-7. Kremlin Foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov confirmed that “The president will attend via video link, but the foreign minister will work at the venue.”

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The decision for President Putin to remain in Russia comes as Brazil, like South Africa, is a signatory to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and is therefore obliged to act on its warrants. The ICC issued an arrest warrant against Putin in 2023, accusing him of the war crime of deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion.

This marks the second consecutive BRICS Summit President Putin has physically skipped due to the outstanding ICC warrant. He also did not attend the 2023 BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, for the same reason. A June 25 Reuters report further highlighted the ICC warrant as the reason for his non-attendance in Brazil.

The BRICS bloc currently comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. It has recently expanded its membership to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.