Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday declined to give a definitive answer to the question of whether the US authorities would arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin at the request of the International Criminal Court if he came to the United States
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd March, 2023) Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday declined to give a definitive answer to the question of whether the US authorities would arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin at the request of the International Criminal Court if he came to the United States.
"I can't get ahead of that, because obviously, I have to look at the laws and those rules. We are not actually a party to the ICC. So, I don't want to engage in that hypothetical," Blinken told a US Senate hearing.
However, Blinken pointed out that any state that is a party to the ICC should fulfill its obligations and arrest Putin in case he arrives on their territory.
On Friday, the ICC issued a warrant for the arrest of Putin and Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova, citing "unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation."
The Kremlin said Russia is not party to the ICC and the court's decision is legally null and void for the country.
Former US National Security Adviser John Bolton said on Monday that the United States should not cooperate with the ICC after a US National Security Council spokesperson suggested that the White House could back the court action. Bolton called the ICC "fundamentally illegitimate" because it lacks a constitutional framework to restrain it.
