Moscow, Jun 25 (PTI) Russian President Vladimir Putin will not travel to Brazil for the BRICS Summit scheduled for early next month, a Kremlin aide said on Wednesday.
Brazil, as the current rotating chair of BRICS, is hosting its regular 17th summit in Rio de Janeiro on July 6-7.
"Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will represent Russia at the upcoming BRICS summit in Brazil, while Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend the event via video link," Kremlin Foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov announced on Wednesday.
President Putin will take part in key events at the summit via video link, he said.
"The president will attend via video link, but the foreign minister will work at the venue,” Ushakov added.
The BRICS comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The bloc has been expanded with five additional members Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
In 2023, President Putin skipped the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, due to an arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC) at Ukraine's request.
Brazil, like South Africa, is a signatory of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and is obliged to act on its warrants.