Trap or friendship? Lula invites Putin to the G20 summit, but does not rule out an arrest in Brazil

Russian President Vladimir Putin will receive an invitation to participate in the G20 summit that will take place in Brazil next year.

President Lula da Silva announced the sensational invitation, but added that it could not affect Brazilian justice if they act by executing an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the arrest of the head of the Kremlin.

Speaking during a visit to Germany, Lula declared that " whether or not Putin attends the summit, he will be invited " to the event scheduled to take place in Rio de Janeiro in November 2024.

The Brazilian leader, however, noted that his Russian counterpart should assess the consequences of such a move, as it is up to the Brazilian judiciary to decide whether to honor the arrest warrant.

Lula also expressed hope that, by the time of the G20 summit in 2024, the conflict in Ukraine will be over and international relations will return to "normal time", including ending sanctions on Russia.

" It is a judicial decision. The president of the republic does not judge court decisions, he implements or does not implement. Putin is invited to the G20 summit in Brazil. And if he participates, he knows what will happen. It may or may not happen ," said Lula.

However, Lula seems to have changed his stance somewhat, as in September the Brazilian president said that Putin " can easily go to Brazil to participate in international events ". " If I am the president of Brazil, and he comes to Brazil, I do not there are chances that he will be arrested ", he said at the time.

Commenting on Putin's possible participation in the G20, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the president had not yet made a decision on the matter, while Putin has not yet announced whether he will run for a new term in office.

Brazil is a member of the ICC, the body that in March accused Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, the country's commissioner for children's rights, of committing "war crimes" by illegally deporting Ukrainian children to Russia.

Moscow, which does not recognize the court's authority, considers the ICC's arrest warrant invalid and has placed several ICC judges on a wanted list after ruling on Putin.

Russian officials have also defended themselves by saying the decision to evacuate Ukrainian children from the conflict zone was based on security concerns, reiterating that minors will be returned to parents or legal guardians immediately upon request. (A2 Televizion)