White House Says Supports Accountability In Light Of ICC's Arrest Warrant For Putin

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th March, 2023) A National Security Council (NSC) spokesperson said in a statement that the Biden administration supports accountability for those responsible for alleged war crimes in Ukraine following the issuance of an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague.

"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 ICC Prosecutor is an independent actor and makes his own prosecutorial decisions based on the evidence before him. We support accountability for perpetrators of war crimes," the statement said on Friday.

Later in the day, National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby refused to answer the question of whether the United States will arrest Putin if he comes to a session of the United Nation's General Assembly in New York since Washington is not a signatory to the Rome Statute that established the ICC.

On Friday, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin as well as Russia's Children's Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova on the grounds of alleged "unlawful deportation" of Ukrainian children to Russia.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the ICC warrants to arrest Putin and Lvova-Belova are legally null and void as Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute and has no obligations under it nor does it cooperate with the ICC.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has repeatedly stated that Russia is not a party to the ICC and its jurisdiction is not recognized by Moscow so any of its decisions against the country are null from the legal point of view.