AMN

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Court’s arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin has no meaning for the country as the nation had withdrawn from the ICC treaty in 2016, according to a report by CNN.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.

Earlier, ICC had 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 recognise the Court’s jurisdiction and does not extradite its nationals.