WASHINGTON
\nJoe Biden said Friday the International Criminal Court\u2019s issuance of an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on accusations of a war crime for deporting Ukrainian children was \u201cjustified.\u201d
\nThe move \u201cmakes a very strong point,\u201d the US president told reporters at the White House, while noting that the United States is not a member of the ICC.
\nThe International Criminal Court on Friday announced an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on the war crime accusation of unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children.
\nThe Hague-based ICC said it had also issued a warrant against Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia\u2019s presidential commissioner for children\u2019s rights, on similar charges. Moscow dismissed the orders as \u201cvoid.\u201d Russia is not a party to the ICC so it was unclear if or how Putin could ever end up in the dock.
\nWar-battered Ukraine welcomed the ICC announcement, with President Volodymyr Zelensky hailing the \u201chistoric decision.\u201d
\nThe court\u2019s shock notice came hours after other news with the potential to significantly impact Russia\u2019s war on Ukraine, including a Moscow visit from Chinese leader Xi Jinping and more fighter jets for Kyiv\u2019s forces.
\nMore than 16,000 Ukrainian children have been deported to Russia since the February 24, 2022 invasion, according to Kyiv, with many allegedly placed in institutions and foster homes.
\nICC prosecutor Karim Khan told AFP that Putin was now liable for arrest if he set foot in any of the court\u2019s more than 120 member states. He said the arrest warrants were \u201cbased upon forensic evidence, scrutiny and what\u2019s been said by those two individuals\u201d.
\n\u201cThe evidence we presented focused on crimes against children. Children are the most vulnerable part of our society,\u201d said Khan. The ICC said judges found there were \u201creasonable grounds\u201d to suspect Putin\u2019s criminal responsibility and grant Khan\u2019s application for the warrants, which were made back on February 22.
\nICC President Piotr Hofmanski said the execution of the warrants \u201cdepends on international cooperation\u201d.
\n\u2018Historic decision\u2019
\nDuring a meeting with Putin in mid-February, Lvova-Belova said she adopted a 15-year-old child from the devastated Ukrainian port city of Mariupol.
\n\u201cNow I know what it means to be a mother of a child from Donbas — it is a difficult job but we love each other, that is for sure,\u201d she told Putin.
\nShe added that \u201cwe evacuated children\u2019s homes into safe areas, arranged rehabilitation and prosthetics for them and provided them with targeted humanitarian assistance.\u201d
\nThe arrest warrant for Putin, a sitting head of state of a UN Security Council member, is an unprecedented step for the ICC.
\nSet up in 2002, the ICC is a court of last resort for the world\u2019s worst crimes, when countries cannot or will not prosecute suspects.
\nProsecutor Khan launched an investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine just days after Russia\u2019s invasion.
\nKhan recently posted pictures from a visit to Ukraine alongside empty cots in an empty children\u2019s care home, and said that investigating alleged child abduction was a \u201cpriority\u201d.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s poignant,\u201d he said. \u201cOne sees empty cribs and empty beds juxtaposed with paintings by those children on the walls.\u201d
\nZelensky, who met Khan on his visit, welcomed the arrest warrants for his nemesis in Moscow.
\n\u201cA historic decision from which historic responsibility will begin,\u201d Zelensky said.
\nUkraine\u2019s Western allies also hailed the move.
\nUS President Joe Biden said the warrant was \u201cjustified,\u201d and \u201cmakes a very strong point,\u201d while noting that the United States is not a member of the ICC.
\n\u201cThere is no doubt that Russia is committing war crimes and atrocities in Ukraine, and we have been clear that those responsible must be held accountable,\u201d a State Department spokesperson said. \u201cThe ICC Prosecutor is an independent actor.\u201d
\nBritain called the decision \u201cwelcome\u201d and the European Union said it was \u201cjust the start.\u201d Human Rights Watch said it was a \u201cbig day for the many victims\u201d of Russian forces.<\/p>\n
\u2018Void\u2019
\nThe Kremlin dismissed the warrants.
\n\u201cRussia, just like a number of different countries, does not recognise the jurisdiction of this court and so from a legal point of view, the decisions of this court are void,\u201d Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
\nFormer Russian president Dmitry Medvedev compared the warrants to toilet paper, while foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said they \u201chave no meaning\u201d for Russia.
\nThe ICC\u2019s Khan however said there were \u201cso many examples of people that thought they were beyond the reach of the law\u201d.
\n\u201cLook at (Slobodan) Milosevic or Charles Taylor or (Radovan) Karadzic or (Ratko) Mladic,\u201d he said, referring to a series of war criminals from the former Yugoslavia, and former Liberian president Taylor, who have faced justice.
\nEarlier in the day, Beijing and Moscow announced that Chinese leader and strategic ally Xi would be in Russia next week to sign accords ushering in a new era of ties.
\nThe United States has accused China of mulling arms shipments to support Russia\u2019s campaign — claims Beijing has strongly denied.
\nThe arrest warrants come a day after UN investigators said Russia\u2019s forced transfer and deportation of Ukrainian children to areas under its control amounts to a war crime.
\nThe investigators said parents and children had spoken of youngsters being informed by Russian social services that they would be placed in foster families or adopted.
\nNeither Russia nor Ukraine are members of the ICC, but Kyiv has accepted the court\u2019s jurisdiction and is working with Khan\u2019s office.
\nRussia denies allegations of war crimes by its troops. Experts have said it is unlikely it would ever hand over any suspects.
\nWith fighting still raging in Ukraine, Kyiv welcomed the news Friday that Slovakia will donate 13 MiG-29 warplanes.
\nUkraine has long requested fighter jets from Western allies, although it is seeking primarily modern US-made F-16s.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON Joe Biden said Friday the International Criminal Court\u2019s issuance of an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on accusations of a war crime for deporting Ukrainian children was \u201cjustified.\u201d The move \u201cmakes a very strong point,\u201d the US president told reporters at the White House, while noting that the United States is not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":320374,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-320365","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n