On Thursday, as part of a weekly briefing, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova commented on the decision of the International Court of Justice in The Hague to issue an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin.
“Whatever the actions of the International Criminal Court (ICC), they cannot affect the nature of our delegations’ participation in the work of the United Nations and membership in its organs,” the RTVI correspondent quoted Zakharova as saying.
” <…> This body (the ICC) has long since discredited itself, it fulfills the political orders of the sponsors, it is clear where the sponsors are - they are Western countries. It has nothing to do with justice.It's so simple that it's not even politics anymore, but a PR company or a structure for setting up black PR projects, I'd call it.The so-called "work" of this structure has never contributed to the settlement of conflicts," said the spokesman of the Russian Foreign Ministry.“The recently published absurd decision of the ICC (on an arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin) did nothing revolutionary, it is just an addition to the completeness of the table. The body is absolutely puppet, it has nothing to do with the objectives of an objective and impartial judicial system. <...> Russia, I repeat, has never been a member of the International Criminal Court.Russia has not cooperated and will not cooperate with the ICC, despite the pleas we now hear from there.An even more absurd situation (…)”, explains Maria Zakharova.“The actions of this structure vis-à-vis the citizens of our country are legally null and void, and as for the outside world, according to international law, state officials enjoy immunity, while senior officials enjoy absolute immunity. The decision of the ICC cannot cancel this,” summarized the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Arrest warrant against Putin
— On March 17, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Ombudsman for Children Maria Lvova-Belova. RTVI told what could follow the ICC decision.
— In the office of the UN Secretary General RTVI declared that Russia continues to be a full member state of the UN, commenting on how Putin’s arrest warrant will affect Russia’s status.
— Vladimir Putin was invited at the end of August to the BRICS summit to be held in South Africa, a member of the ICC. The Pretoria official said he had considered the arrest warrant for the Russian leader and would consult with ‘interested parties’
