Lavrov to Represent Russia at Rio de Janeiro’s G20 Summit
Sergei Lavrov (L) and President Vladimir Putin (R). X/ @MenaNews_info
November 13, 2024 Hour: 8:48 am
In recent years, the Russian diplomat has replaced President Putin at numerous international events.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will represent Russia at the G20 summit to be held from November 18 to 19 in Rio de Janeiro, where Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin declined to travel.
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Lavrov, who in recent years has substituted for Putin at numerous international events due to COVID and the Ukrainian conflict, will take the opportunity to hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit.
Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova explained that Lavrov will travel to Brazil by direct order of the president. She added that the head of Russian diplomacy will address the plenary session and announce that Russia is joining the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty.
In mid-October, Putin announced that he would not participate in the G20 summit in Brazil due to the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes in Ukraine.
“We understand perfectly that even if we set aside the issue of the ICC, everyone would only talk about that. In fact, we would obstruct the work of the G20. Why?” he argued, adding that he has magnificent friendship relations with Brazilian President Lula da Silva, so it wouldn’t make sense to travel “just to disrupt the normal functioning of that forum.”
In Dec. 2023, Lula invited Putin to the G20 summit, but he implied that the Russian leader would have to face the consequences of the arrest warrant issued against him. “If Putin were to travel to Rio de Janeiro? Well, he will be invited. He will have to face the consequences,” the Brazilian president said, adding that it is up to the Brazilian judiciary to decide whether Putin would be arrested or not.
The ICC “is one of those international organizations whose jurisdiction Russia does not recognize, like many other countries in the world. I believe the U.S. doesn’t recognize it either, nor does China and Türkiye… Therefore, I don’t think it’s a bad thing that there’s an organization like this, but it needs to be universal,” Putin said at the time.
In March 2023, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin over his alleged responsibility for the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia, which has considerably restricted the Russian leader’s ability to travel. Mongolia signed the Rome Statute, the ICC’s founding treaty, but Putin was not arrested when he traveled to that country in September.
teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE
