The Russian government refuses any cooperation with the International Criminal Court. Putin’s predecessor Medvedev is cynical.
Moscow will “not cooperate with the court”. Russia is “not a contractual partner” of the ICC and has “no obligations” towards it. The ICC had previously announced that an arrest warrant had been issued against Putin for the “unlawful deportation” of Ukrainian children to Russia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the arrest warrant outrageous and unacceptable. When asked if Putin wanted to avoid traveling to ICC member states, he did not answer. “I have nothing to add to this topic,” said Peskow.
Putin himself has not commented so far – unlike his child rights commissioner, Maria Alexeyevna Lwowa-Belowa, against whom the ICC has also issued an arrest warrant. “There were sanctions against me from all countries, even Japan, and now an arrest warrant (…),” Lvova-Belowa said, according to the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. “But we will continue our work.”
Meanwhile, ex-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev compared the arrest warrant against Putin to toilet paper.
“The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin. There is no need to explain where this paper is to be used,” he wrote in English on Twitter next to a toilet paper emoticon.
