Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Saturday that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will not be arrested in Brazil if he attends the G20 summit to be held in Rio de Janeiro in 2024.

The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against the Russian president in March, accusing him of deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. Moscow denies that its forces have committed war crimes or forcibly taken children out of Ukraine.

Putin has avoided attending several international meetings and was not even present at the G20 summit in New Delhi.

In an interview with Firstpost TV on the sidelines of the current Group of 20 summit in New Delhi, India, Lula indicated that Putin would be invited to the next summit, adding that he himself plans to attend the BRICS meeting that will held next year in Russia.

“I think Putin can easily go to Brazil,” Lula pointed out. “What I can tell you is that if I am the president of Brazil and he comes to Brazil, there is no way he will be arrested.”

Brazil has signed the Rome Statute establishing the ICC.