U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday urged all members of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to comply with an arrest warrant that the court issued for Russian President Vladimir Putin, just as allies caution that, that will be tantamount to a declaration of war on Russia.
The ICC issued an arrest warrant on Friday, accusing Putin of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. It said there are reasonable grounds to believe that Putin bears individual criminal responsibility.
The legal move will obligate the court’s 123 member states to arrest Putin and transfer him to The Hague for trial if he sets foot on their territory.
“I think anyone who’s a party to the court and has obligations should fulfill their obligations,” Blinken said when asked by U.S. senator Lindsey Graham at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, if he would encourage European allies to “turn over” Putin.
Although the United States is not a party to the ICC, U.S. President Joe Biden said on Friday that Putin has clearly committed war crimes, adding that the ICC warrant was justified.
Moscow has repeatedly denied accusations that its forces have committed atrocities during its one-year invasion of its neighbour and the Kremlin branded the court decision as “null and void”.
Neither Russia nor Ukraine are members of the ICC, although Kyiv granted the court jurisdiction to prosecute crimes committed on its territory. The tribunal has no police force of its own and relies on member states to make arrests.
However, former President Dmitry Medvedev , who serves as deputy chairman of Putin’s powerful security council has sounded a note of warning that any move to detain Putin would be a declaration of war.
With Reports From Reuters