Hungary has blocked the publication of a joint statement by the countries of the European Union on the issuance by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin, suspected of having committed war crimes in Ukraine. On this subject informed Bloomberg Agency, citing sources.
Due to Hungary’s position, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, issued a statement on his own behalf, saying that the European Union “takes note” of the decision of the ICC. “The EU sees the ICC decision as the start of a process to hold Russian leaders accountable for crimes and atrocities committed in Ukraine on their orders, with their permission or that they themselves commit,” said Borrel. “The International Criminal Court’s decision against Vladimir Putin is a very important event, a game-changing factor,” said the head of European diplomacy.
EU justice ministers issued their own statement on March 20 in support of the International Criminal Court’s decision, which Hungary has not signed either.
Hungary’s position on issuing an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin may be expressed at the next EU summit, which will be held in Brussels on March 23-24, writes Bloomberg.
According to the agency, the draft joint statement uses language similar to Borrell’s comment. The text notes that the EU “takes note” of the arrest warrants recently issued against Putin and the children’s rights ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova.
Some European leaders should push for tougher language, Bloomberg sources said.
The International Criminal Court suspects Putin and Lvova-Belova of having committed war crimes – forced deportations and displacement of people, especially children, from occupied territories of Ukraine. International law can consider this as genocide. The ICC notes that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Putin is personally responsible for the alleged crimes.
Russia does not recognize the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court and does not participate in its work. Moscow has not been a party to the Rome Statute governing the court’s actions since 2016.
