Biden says Putin committed war crimes, calls charges justified
World
Biden said on Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has clearly committed war crimes.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden said on Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has clearly committed war crimes and the International Criminal Court's (ICC) decision to issue an arrest warrant for him was justified.
The ICC earlier on Friday called for Putin's arrest on suspicion of unlawful deportation of children and unlawful transfer of people from Ukraine to Russia since Moscow's invasion began of its neighbor last year. The United States is not a member of the ICC.
"He's clearly committed war crimes," Biden told reporters, referring to Putin.
"Well, I think it's justified," Biden added, referring to the warrant. "But the question is - it's not recognized internationally by us either. But I think it makes a very strong point."
The United States separately has concluded that Russian forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine and supports accountability for perpetrators of war crimes, a State Department spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
"There 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," the spokesperson added. "This was a decision the ICC prosecutor reached independently based on the facts before him."
The ICC move obligates the court's 123 member states to arrest Putin and transfer him to The Hague for trial if he sets foot on their territory. The ICC also issued a warrant on Friday for Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia's commissioner for children's rights, on the same charges.
A U.S.-backed report by Yale University researchers last month said Russia has held at least 6,000 Ukrainian children in at least 43 camps and other facilities as part of a "large-scale systematic network."
Russia has denied accusations that its forces have committed atrocities during its invasion. The Kremlin said on Friday the ICC arrest warrant against Putin was outrageous, but meaningless with respect to Russia.
Kremlin: ICC warrants outrageous and unacceptable, but null and void for us
The Kremlin said on Friday that an arrest warrant for war crimes issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague against Russian President Vladimir Putin was outrageous, but meaningless with respect to Russia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia found the very questions raised by the ICC "outrageous and unacceptable", but noted that Russia, like many other countries, did not recognise the jurisdiction of the ICC.
"And accordingly, any decisions of this kind are null and void for the Russian Federation from the point of view of law."
Asked if Putin now feared travelling to countries that recognised the ICC and might therefore try to arrest him, Peskov told reporters: "I have nothing to add on this subject. That's all we want to say."
Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian commissioner for children's rights, was like Putin accused by the ICC of the war crime of illegal deportation of children from Ukraine.
"It's great that the international community has appreciated this work to help the children of our country: that we don't leave them in war zones, that we take them out, that we create good conditions for them, that we surround them with loving, caring people," she told journalists, according to the state-run RIA news agency.
Russia signed the Rome Statute in 2000, but never ratified it to become a member of the ICC, and finally withdrew its signature in 2016.
At the time, Russia was under international pressure over its seizure and unilateral annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, as well as a campaign of air strikes in Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad's war against rebels.
Ukraine hails 'historic' ICC warrant for Russia's Putin
Ukraine applauded the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday for issuing an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The ICC called for Putin's arrest on suspicion of unlawful deportation of children and unlawful transfer of people from the territory of Ukraine to the Russian Federation. It also issued warrants for Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia's Commissioner for Children’s Rights, on the same charges.
"Wheels of Justice are turning: I applaud the ICC decision to issue arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova over forcible transfer of Ukrainian children," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter.
Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said the ICC decision was "historic for Ukraine and the entire international law system."
"Today's decision is a historic step. But it is only the beginning of the long road to restore justice," Kostin said on the Telegram messaging app.
Andriy Yermak, chief of the presidential staff, said that issuing the warrant against Putin was "only the beginning."
He said Ukraine had cooperated closely with the ICC and was currently investigating over 16,000 cases of forced children deportation to Russia. Ukraine has managed to secure the return of 308 children so far.
Moscow has denied accusations that its forces have committed atrocities during its one-year invasion of its neighbour.
