Russians find replacement for Putin to represent Russia at G20 summit in Brazil

Russia's delegation to the G20 conference in Rio de Janeiro will be led by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rather than Vladimir Putin, whom Brazil is required to arrest under a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court.

Source: Russian state-owned news agency TASS with reference to Russian ambassador Marat Berdyev, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Putin announced last month that he would not attend the G20 summit in Brazil, saying that he did not want to "disrupt the normal operation of this forum".

The Kremlin ruler also vowed to find someone who would "properly represent the interests of our country at a high level in Brazil".

Lavrov has already represented Putin at a number of high-level events, including UN General Assembly sessions and last year's G20 summit in India.

Brazilian President Lula da Silva had previously said he would invite the Russian leader to this year's summit, and Brazil has also openly stated that it was "unlikely" to fulfil the ICC arrest warrant.

In September, Putin travelled to Mongolia, which is also a signatory to the Rome Statute, and escaped detention.

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