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US President Joe Biden (left) welcomed the ICC’s decision to issue an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo/REUTERS
WASHINGTON – President of the United States (US) Joe Biden welcomed the move by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue an arrest warrant for the President of Russia Vladimir Putin on suspicion of war crimes in Ukraine .
The American leader said the arrest warrant from the ICC in The Hague was a very strong point. He then voiced support for an investigation into alleged war crimes by Putin.
“I think it’s justified,” Biden said. “But the question is, it’s also not recognized internationally by us. But I think it makes a very strong point,” Biden said, as quoted by CNN, Saturday (18/3/2023) .
“Putin is clearly committing war crimes,” Biden added.
Apart from Putin, an arrest warrant from the ICC was also addressed to Maria Lvova-Belova, Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the President of Russia. The two were accused of carrying out the illegal transfer of children from occupied territories in Ukraine to Russian territory.
“There are reasonable reasons to believe that Putin bears individual criminal responsibility for the alleged crimes, for having committed them directly with others, and for his failure to exercise proper control over the civilian and military subordinates who committed those acts,” the ICC said in a statement. a statement.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the ICC for what he called a historic decision.
But the Kremlin said it found the ICC’s decision “outrageous and unacceptable”.
The White House, in a statement, welcomed holding the perpetrators of war crimes to account, but stopped short of fully supporting the ICC’s arrest warrants.
“There is no doubt that Russia committed war crimes and atrocities in Ukraine, and we have made clear that those responsible must be held accountable. The ICC Public Prosecutor is an independent actor and makes his own prosecution decisions based on the evidence before him. We support accountability for the perpetrators of war crimes,” said National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson.
Watson’s statement did not explicitly support the ICC’s efforts to try Putin for alleged war crimes in Ukraine.
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