This is how Russia, Ukraine and the UN react to Putin’s arrest warrant

The arrest warrant of the International Criminal Court in The Hague against President Vladimir Putin for war crimes in Ukraine is stated differently:

Russia

The Kremlin has legally declared the arrest warrant null and void. “We find the wording of the question outrageous and unacceptable,” the Kremlin spokesman said Dmitry Peskov This was reported by the Russian state news agency Tass on Friday. “Russia, like a number of other countries, does not recognize the jurisdiction of this court. Therefore, such decisions are legally irrelevant for Russia.”

Peskov declined to comment on whether an impending arrest of the Kremlin chief in countries that recognize the court could affect Putin’s travel plans, Russian agencies said. “I have nothing more to say on the subject.”

Independent Russian media noted that the arrest warrant could limit Putin’s ability to travel. Many countries, including Russia’s allies, recognize the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court and have ratified its statute. “In case Putin visits one of these countries, the local authorities will have to arrest him,” said lawyer Sergej Golubok the portal MO.

Putin himself has so far not responded.

The Russian former president Dmitry Medvedev however, found clear words in a tweet when he compared the arrest warrant against Putin to toilet paper:

“The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin. No need to explain where this paper will be used,” he wrote in English, adding – not very subtly – a toilet paper emoji to his message.

In Russia, the prominent foreign politician Leonid Slutsky reacted with horror to the arrest warrant issued by the International Court of Justice in The Hague against Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin for war crimes in Ukraine. “Such accusations are absolutely outrageous, they don’t even fall under the definition of ‘absurd’,” Sluzki said on Friday shortly after the news from The Hague became known.

Ukraine

Ukrainian leaders have issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and the children’s commissar Maria Lvowa-Belova welcomed as “historic”. “This means that they can now be arrested on the territory of the countries that have signed the Rome Statute,” said the head of the presidential office in Kiev. Andri Yermak, on the Telegram news channel. He stressed that Kiev is systematically cooperating with the court.

The Ukrainian Attorney General Andrew Kostin praised the decision as a signal to the world that the “Russian regime” was criminal. “World leaders will now think three times before shaking hands with him (Putin) or sitting down with him at the negotiating table,” he said.

Kostin thanked the Chief Prosecutor of the Court Karim Khan, for this step. The Public Prosecution Service has already handed over more than 1,000 pages of research results to The Hague. Accordingly, the “kidnapping” of more than 16,000 children from the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv and Kherson was documented. So far, Kiev has managed to bring back 308 children.

The United Nations

The United Nations has avoided a direct response to the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court in The Hague against Russian President Vladimir Putin. The spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Stephane Dujarric, only emphasized on Friday that Putin was not persona non grata to the UN chief because of the decision: “The Secretary-General will always speak to anyone who needs it.” . Dujarric continued that the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the United Nations are separate organizations.

The ICC goes back to the 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which was negotiated under UN leadership. According to the UN, there is a cooperation agreement between the court and the United Nations. Spokesman Dujarric declined to answer whether he sees diplomatic progress at risk because of Putin’s limited freedom of travel. It seems doubtful that the Russian president could fly to Geneva for possible UN-led peace talks – Switzerland is a member of the ICC.

In total, more than 120 countries have ratified the Rome Statute. Earlier on Friday, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant against Putin for war crimes in Ukraine. Russian troops invaded Ukraine 13 months ago on Putin’s orders. In the spring of 2014, Moscow had already annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea and then supported separatists in eastern Ukraine.

(adi/sda/dpa)