The Russian president is hosting the BRICS countries in Kazan, his alternative to the upcoming November G20 summit in Brazil. He has hosted an economic forum in Moscow the week before.

Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin has said he will not attend the Group of 20 summit in Brazil, which is a party to the Rome Statute and would be obliged to arrest him under an International Criminal Court warrant.

President says ICC warrant could be a distraction, but downplays risk of arrest given ‘warm’ relations with Brazil.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague has issued a warrant for Putin's arrest over alleged war crimes in Ukraine. Kyiv has urged Brazil to arrest the Russian leader if he travels there for the Nov. 18-19 summit.

Ukraine's top prosecutor said he had received intelligence indicating that Russian President Vladimir Putin may attend the G20 summit in Brazil next month, and called on authorities there to carry out a warrant for his arrest if he showed up.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a press conference on Friday that he would not attend the upcoming G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro in November. Putin said he was aware of the commotion surrounding Russia and the International Criminal Court's (ICC) arrest warrant for him.

Although he hesitated, Vladimir Putin ultimately announced on Friday that he would not participate in the G20 summit scheduled for November 18-19 in Brazil. Earlier, the Russian leader expressed his opinion on the International Criminal Court.

U.S. Ambassador for Global Justice Beth Van Schaack warned Putin on Thursday against travelling to Brazil. "If I were a lawyer advising Putin, I would tell him to be very cautious when travelling to countries that belong to the International Criminal Court,