Brazilian President Lula da Silva confirmed that his country will invite President Putin to participate in the G20 summit scheduled to be held in Rio de Janeiro next year, and that he will not be arrested if he decides to attend the summit.
Brazilian President Luiz Inaspo Lula da Silva confirmed on Saturday that Russian President Vladimir Putin will receive an official invitation to participate in the next G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro in 2024, and that he will not be arrested if he attends the summit.
Da Silva's statements came during a television interview with the Indian channel First Suit, during which he confirmed that the Russian President would be welcome in the Brazilian city, and would be invited to participate in the summit despite the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court last March against Putin.
On the sidelines of the G20 summit held over the weekend in New Delhi, Lula said: “I can tell you that if I were the president of Brazil and if he came to Brazil, there would be no reason to arrest him.”
The Kremlin denies the International Criminal Court's accusations, and confirms that the arrest warrant against the Russian president is "invalid."
Brazil is a signatory to the 1998 Rome Statute, the international treaty that led to the establishment of the International Criminal Court in 2002, and therefore, in theory, it should arrest the Russian president if he enters its territory.
The Brazilian President explained during the interview that a meeting of BRICS leaders would be held on Russian soil before the next meeting of G20 leaders.
"Everyone will go (to the BRICS summit), so I hope they will come to the G20 summit in Brazil. In Brazil, they will feel an atmosphere of peace," Lula said.
"We like to take care of people. So I think Putin can easily go to Brazil," he added.
Neither Russian President Vladimir Putin nor Chinese President Xi Jinping participated in the activities of the G20 Summit held in India, which began yesterday, Saturday, and ends Sunday.
NATO : Led by Germany, NATO begins large-scale naval exercises in the Baltic Sea
On Saturday, 14 countries from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), including the United States, began large-scale naval exercises led by Germany in the Baltic Sea, and soldiers will be trained to defend ports, as well as to launch an amphibious attack on land targets.
On Saturday, 14 countries from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), including the United States, began large-scale naval exercises led by Germany in the Baltic Sea, in light of the Russian war on Ukraine.
About 30 ships and submarines, in addition to about 19 aircraft and various ground units, are participating in the annual “Northern Coasts 23” exercises, according to what the German Navy reported in a statement on Saturday.
In previous years, participants in these maneuvers were training to confront attacks by pirates, terrorists and smugglers, or to participate in international missions.
The operations, which will continue until September 23, will take place mainly off the coasts of Estonia and Latvia, including their land and air areas, and in the eastern and central parts of the Baltic Sea.
The two NATO member countries, which were part of the Soviet Union, are located on the borders of Russia.
Soldiers will be trained to defend ports as well as to launch an amphibious assault on ground targets. The goal is to enhance cooperation between the participating naval, land and air forces, according to the German Navy.
Germany launched the Northern Coasts exercises in 2007 and is led in rotation with Denmark, Sweden and Finland.
In addition to Germany, the United States, France, Italy, Finland, Estonia, Denmark, Canada, Belgium, Lithuania, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden are participating this year.
Russia also regularly conducts military exercises in the Baltic Sea.
The German Navy explained that the Northern Coast 23 maneuvers would not approach Kaliningrad, the small Russian enclave in the European Union that Moscow has heavily armed, to avoid any provocation.
Ukraine : Russian bombing of Kiev and interception of Ukrainian drones over the Black Sea
Russia bombed the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, using drones on Sunday morning, and eyewitnesses reported hearing explosions that shook the capital. Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that it shot down drones over the Crimean Peninsula.
Russia launched an air attack with drones on Kiev on Sunday morning, while explosions were heard throughout various parts of the city.
Eyewitnesses reported that at least five explosions occurred in various parts of Kiev, lasting for nearly two hours, during which drone debris fell.
Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that one person was injured in the historic Podil district and a fire broke out near one of the city's parks.
Klitschko and the city's military administration said that drone debris fell on several neighborhoods in the city.
A Russian attack on Wednesday killed 17 people in the city of Kostyantinivka in the east of the country.
In the same context, the Russian Ministry of Defense said that the air defense shot down 8 drones launched by Ukraine over the Black Sea near the Crimean Peninsula and destroyed three speedboats in the sea in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The ministry added on the Telegram application that the American-made military speedboats were carrying Ukrainian soldiers and were destroyed northeast of Snake Island.
Ukraine continues its counterattack for the third month in a row, trying to penetrate Russian defenses, while Russia seeks to tighten its control over the lands it has seized since the war began in Ukraine.
Tags:
europe