Biden says Putin committed war crimes and charges are ‘justified’

The president of USA, Joe Bidensaid on Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putinhas committed war crimes and that the decision of the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant against him is justified.

The ICC on Friday called for Putin’s arrest on suspicion of the illegal deportation of children and illegal transfer of people from Ukraine to Russia since Moscow launched its invasion of its neighboring country last year. The United States is not a member of the ICC.

“I think it is justified. The point is that it is not internationally recognized by us either, but I think it is a very solid argument.” Biden told reporters.

The United States has separately concluded that Russian forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine and supports accountability for war crimes perpetrators, a State Department spokesman said in an emailed statement.

“There is no question that Russia is committing war crimes and atrocities (in) Ukraine, and we have been clear that those responsible must be held accountable,” added the spokesman. “This was a decision that the ICC prosecutor reached independently based on the facts before him.”

The ICC measure obliges 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 an arrest warrant for Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, on the same charges.

A US-backed report by Yale University researchers claimed last month that 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 committed atrocities during its invasion. The Kremlin said on Friday that the ICC’s arrest warrant against Putin is outrageous but meaningless in relation to Russia.

Source: Reuters