Any attempt to arrest Putin would be declaration of war on Russia – Russia's former president
Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation and former Russian president, stated that the competence of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Russia is worthless, adding that a situation involving the arrest of the Russian president by the decision of the ICC would mean a declaration of war against Russia l.
Source: Medvedev, in the interview with Russian news agencies
Medvedev recalled the words of the Minister of Justice of Germany that if Putin came to this country, he would be arrested.
"Now let's imagine – it is clear that this situation is never realised, but, nevertheless, let's imagine that it was realised. The current head of a nuclear state came to the territory of, let's say, Germany and was arrested. What is this? A declaration of war on the Russian Federation! And in this case already, all our assets (i.e., projectiles – ed.) will fly to the Bundestag, to the chancellor's office, etc. Does he understand this is a "casus belli" [act that justifies a war – ed.] and a declaration of war? Didn't he study well enough?", Medvedev said.
He called the ICC "some kind of legal nothingness that hasn't done anything significant since its creation".
According to Medvedev, the ISS "didn't stand out for anything serious" during his work: "For the entire history, they brought about 30 people [to justice], (…) these are some third-rate rebels in some, mostly small, countries".
"But there are consequences, and they consist in the fact that this kind of decision creates a colossal negative potential. And we already have terrible relations with the Western world, worse in general, probably throughout history," Medvedev summarised.
Background:
- Last week, the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, and Maria Lvova-Belova, the representative of the Russian President on children's rights.
- Thereafter, the Investigative Committee of Russia opened a criminal case against the prosecutor and judges of the International Criminal Court for the "illegal prosecution of the known innocent" Vladimir Putin.
- The ICC called it an attempt to thwart efforts to prosecute for actions prohibited by international law.
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