The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin on charges of war crimes in Ukraine. In addition to Putin, the ICC also issued an arrest warrant on the same charges against Maria Alexeyevna Lvova-Belova, Russian Commissioner for Children's Rights.
On Friday (March 17), an ICC judge issued the order.
The Hague-based court in the Netherlands said in a statement, "Putin is accused of being involved in war crimes such as, forcibly taking Ukrainian citizens (children) and forcibly taking citizens (children) from Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine to Russia."
However, the ICC does not have the power to arrest anyone even after issuing an arrest warrant. And the order of this court is applicable only to those countries that have signed the agreement in the "Rome Statute" to establish this international court.
The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Maria Zakharova said in an immediate response, "The order of the International Criminal Court is meaningless for our country, even from a legal point of view, the order does not carry any meaning. Russia is not a signatory country to the Rome Statute, nor it is a party to the International Criminal Court. As a result, we are not obliged to obey the order of that court".
However, praising the decision of the ICC, the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Andriy Kostin said, "It is a historic decision not only for Ukraine, but for the entire international legal framework."
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