Putin's invitation to the G20 conference in Brazil? Macron asks Lula for a “consensus” decision

Ludovic Marin / AFP

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (right) and French President Emmanuel Macron (left) during the signing ceremony of the bilateral agreement at the Planaldo Palace in Brasilia, March 28, 2024.

International – keep the feel of the club. From Brasilia, Emmanuel Macron assessed that an invitation from Vladimir Putin to the G20 summit should be a consensus among the most industrialized nations. “The meaning of this club is that it must be in agreement with the other 19, which will be the work of Brazilian diplomacy” He made the announcement during a joint press conference with Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

As the event is scheduled to take place in Brazil next November, a preventive notice. “If there is a useful meeting, it should be made. A useless meeting should not be divisive.”, assessed Emmanuel Macron. to be” In the service of peace and common good »He insisted.

Macron is par for the course in August 2019

The French head of state recalled that he himself raised the question of inviting Vladimir Putin to the G7 summit in France in August 2019, but due to the lack of consensus, he abandoned it in order to invite him to a separate meeting. A few days ago at his summer home in Breconcon. “The situation was low, but finally, the war started and Crimea was already taken, and I did not have the consensus of others. Some people told me: “If you call them, I will not come, it will be a problem.”he said.

Since the Russian offensive in Ukraine began in February 2022, the question has come up in the presence of the Kremlin master at every G20 summit. He ultimately did not attend those organized in Indonesia in 2022 and India in 2023. The Russian president is the subject of an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court (ICC), which accuses him of war crimes over the deportation of Ukrainian children.

Lula initially promised that Vladimir Putin would receive an invitation to go to the G20 in Rio, which would not happen. The reason for his arrest », before changing his mind. At the end of the New Delhi summit in September 2023, he announced that if he finally goes to Rio, it will be up to his country's justice system to decide whether to arrest his Russian ally. By then the war will be over.”.

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