Putin To Skip G20 Summit In India As Ukraine Boasts Of ICC Arrest Warrant Impact
The International Criminal Court's arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to impact his travel ability and plans, though the Kremlin has framed it as him wanting to stay in Moscow to focus on the special military operation in Ukraine. He addressed the BRICS summit in South Africa this week via remote feed.
The Kremlin confirmed on Friday that he will not be in attendance at the G20 summit in India next month, citing his "busy schedule".
Reuters in its report has recalled that the ICC "issued an arrest warrant for Putin accusing him of war crimes in Ukraine, something the Kremlin strongly denies. This means he risks arrest when travelling abroad."
But in South Africa's case the question of whether Putin would attend in person or not seemed more a matter of relieving the internal and international pressure being placed on the normally sympathetic (to Moscow) Ramaphosa government, which is a signatory to the Rome statute.
But in India's case, it's government is not a signatory to the Rome statute which would require action based on the ICC ruling. Still, the pressure remains and has impacted where he goes internationally.
Ukrainian officials have been hailing this as a 'victory'...
⚡️Putin won't attend the G20 summit in India - Peskov.
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) August 25, 2023
Didn't attend the BRICS summit, didn't go to Turkey, won't go to India... ICC arrest warrants do increase his love for his motherland.
Heads of the world's 20 largest economies will gather in New Delhi on September 9 and 10. This will reportedly include President Joe Biden.
Even if Putin were to go in person, it would likely create a deeply awkward atmosphere for the Russian leader given it would trigger other world leaders to snub him and other anti-Russia demonstrations, which would surely also be on display from the media.
In December of 2022 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi canceled a planned meeting Putin, with an Indian spokesman at the time saying the current circumstances would likely only harm Modi's image. Modi had previous to that stressed that "today's era is not an era of war."
