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Russia Dismisses ICC Arrest Warrant for President Putin, Refuses to Recognize Jurisdiction

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BNN Correspondents
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Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday, Russia doesn’t recognize the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Hence, Russia considers its decisions null and void.

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Dmitry Peskov said this, while commenting on the ICC’s issuance of an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Dmitry Peskov said, “We consider the very formulation of the issue outrageous and unacceptable. Russia, as well as several other states, do not recognize the jurisdiction of this court and, accordingly, any decisions of this kind are null and void for Russia in terms of law”.

Peskov added, “That is, in fact, the only thing I would and could tell you about this decision”.

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Peskov was asked, whether the court’s decision would affect Putin’s visits to countries, which recognized the jurisdiction of the ICC. For which, Peskov replied, “I have nothing to add on this topic”.

Earlier on Friday, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for President Putin and Russian children’s rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova.

International Criminal Court was created by the 1998 Rome Statute and is not part of the UN. It is accountable to the countries, which have ratified the document. There are many Non-signatories also. This includes Russia (signed but not ratified), the United States (signed but later withdrew its signature), and China (did not sign the statute).

In 2016, Putin signed an order, which stated that Russia would not become party to the ICC. The Russian Foreign Ministry said, “the ICC has failed to live up to the expectations placed on it and has not become a truly independent body of international justice”.

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