Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will lead the Russian delegation at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro. This was announced by the ambassador of the Russian Foreign Ministry on special assignments, Marat Berdiev, quoted by TASS and News.bg.
"At the direction of President Vladimir Putin, the Russian delegation to this event will be led by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov," he wrote in "Telegram".
Putin had earlier announced that he would not attend the G20 summit in Brazil, scheduled for November 18 and 19, to avoid disrupting the event. However, he promised to send a high-ranking official to represent Russia at the forum.
Despite his refusal, Putin emphasized that he maintains "good friendly relations" with his Brazilian counterpart.
Ukraine previously called on Brazil to arrest the Russian leader if he attends the G20 meeting, according to the warrant for his arrest.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Putin in March 2023, charging him with the war crime of deporting children after Russian forces invaded Ukraine. Russia denies the allegations of war crimes and the Kremlin rejects the ICC order as "invalid".
Despite the ICC order, Putin made an official state visit to Mongolia in September, and her refusal to arrest him was criticized by Ukraine as a blow to international justice.
Last year, Putin again stayed away from the BRICS meeting in South Africa and was only present online.