G20 consensus needed before Putin invitation to Brazil summit: Macron

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
29 Mar 2024 00:22
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According to French President Emmanuel Macron, if such a meeting can be "useful, it must be done."

France's President Emmanuel Macron gives a joint statement with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at Planalto presidential palace in Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, March 28, 2024. (AP)

During a joint press conference in Brasilia with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that before Russian leader Vladimir Putin is invited to attend the G20 summit in Brazil in November, agreement from G20 members would be necessary.

"The meaning of this club is that there must be consensus with the 19 others. That will be a job for Brazilian diplomacy," Macron said, adding that if such a meeting can be "useful, it must be done."

But division over the matter could potentially derail any invitation extended to Russia, he warned.

“Estou a tantos mil quilômetros da Ucrânia que não sou obrigado a ter o mesmo nervosismo que tem o povo francês, alemão e europeu”, diz Lula ao lado de Macron.

Presidente francês foi questionado sobre a possibilidade de Vladimir Putin ser convidado para a reunião do G20, no Rio,… pic.twitter.com/uPtCbJ6bVK
— Metrópoles (@Metropoles) March 28, 2024

Brazil, currently holding the G20 group's chairmanship, the bloc representing 80 percent of the global economy, has resisted the US-led initiative to isolate and penalize Russia for its conflict with Ukraine. Brazil contends that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Western nations also bear some responsibility for the conflict.

In 2023, Putin skipped the G20 summit in New Delhi, averting potential political criticism and any threat of arrest under an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant.

In September 2023, Lula initially asserted that there was "no way" Putin would face arrest if he attended the Rio de Janeiro summit.

"I believe that Putin can go easily to Brazil," Lula said as quoted by Reuters. "What I can say to you is that if I'm president of Brazil, and he comes to Brazil, there's no way he will be arrested."

However, he later retracted his statement, indicating that the decision regarding Putin's potential arrest would be determined by the justice system and not his government.