The International Criminal Court's arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin has no meaning for the country as the nation had withdrawn from the ICC treaty in 2016, a spokeswoman for the ministry of foreign affairs said, according to a report by CNN.
Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the ministry of foreign affairs, said, "Russia is not an ICC member and bears no obligations under it. Russia does not cooperate with this body, and possible arrest coming from the International Court of Justice will be legally null and void for us."
Former Russian President and deputy chair of the Security Council of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, compared the ICC's arrest warrant for Putin to toilet paper.
“The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin. No need to explain WHERE this paper should be used (with the toilet paper emoji)," he tweeted.
ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for alleged war crimes, including abducting children from Ukraine. It accuses Putin of responsibility for the "unlawful deportation" and "unlawful transfer" of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia.
The court also issued a warrant for Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, a Russian children's rights official, on similar charges. However, enforcement of the warrants depends on international cooperation, as the ICC has no police force of its own.
The possibility of a trial at the ICC is remote as Russia does not recognize the court's jurisdiction and does not extradite its nationals. Although Ukraine is not a member of the ICC, it has granted the court jurisdiction over its territory, and the ICC prosecutor has visited four times since opening an investigation a year ago.
An UN-backed inquiry also cited Russian attacks against civilians in Ukraine, including systematic torture and killing in occupied regions, as war crimes and crimes against humanity. The investigation found that crimes were committed against Ukrainians on Russian territory, including deported Ukrainian children prevented from reuniting with their families.
Source: CNN, Mint
BDST: 1248 HRS, MAR 18, 2023
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