Biden Cheers Putin Arrest Warrant but Admits It’s Mostly Virtue Signaling

President Joe Biden stated Friday that he believes it’s “justified” that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Russia’s President Vladimir Putin over alleged war crimes while admitting that the move is mostly symbolic as neither Russia nor the United States recognize its jurisdiction.

“I think it’s justified,” Biden spoke to reporters on the South Lawn at the White House. “But the question is, it’s not recognized internationally by us, either. But I think it makes a very strong point.”

Biden later stated to reporters that he believed Putin had “clearly committed war crimes.”

Friday’s formal accusation of Putin by the ICC was made by the ICC.

ICC president Piotr Hofmanski said in a video statement Friday that an arrest warrant has been issued for Putin for the “alleged war crimes of deportation of children from Ukrainian occupied territories into the Russian Federation.”

International law prohibits occupying powers transferring civilians from occupied territories to other territories.

Hofmanski stated that the warrant would be kept under seal in order to protect the identities and safety of the children allegedly abducted.

“Nevertheless, the judges of the chamber dealing with this case decided to make the existence of the warrants public in the interest of justice and to prevent the commission of future crimes,” He said.

The Kremlin responded with a harsh assessment to the ICC’s news, while leaders in Ukraine cheered it.

“Wheels of Justice are turning,” Dmytro Kuleba (Ukraine’s Foreign Minister) posted the following tweet. “International criminals will be held accountable for stealing children and other international crimes.”

‘Null and Void’

Dmitry Peskov (Kremlin spokesperson) told journalists in Moscow that Russia does not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC and considered the warrant meaningless.

“We consider the very formulation of the issue outrageous and unacceptable. Russia, as well as several other states, do not recognize the jurisdiction of this court and, accordingly, any decisions of this kind are null and void for Russia in terms of law,” The Kremlin spokesperson stated that

Peskov did not respond to reporters’ questions about whether the existence warrant for his arrest would have any impact on Putin’s ability to travel internationally. “I have nothing to add on this topic.”

In a similar vein, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the ICC’s decisions have no legal power in Russia and so the warrant is meaningless.

“The decisions of the International Criminal Court have no meaning for our country, including from a legal point of view. Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and bears no obligations under it.”

“Who would have thought 15 years ago that in the West taking care of children, saving them, and helping them would become a criminal offence,” She also stated that Russia’s deportations Ukrainian kids are a form if rescue and not abduction.

The ICC announced Friday that it had issued an arrest warrant to Maria Alekseyevna Lvova–Belova, the Commissioner of Children’s Rights at the Office of President of Russia Federation. This was in addition to seeking Putin’s arrest.

The ICC said in a statement that both Putin and Lvova-Belova are “allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.”

“The crimes were allegedly committed in Ukrainian occupied territory” According to the court, February 24, 2022 is the date Russia invaded Ukraine. Moscow calls it a “flood.” “special military operation.”

Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency cited Lvova Belova saying that the removal children from the warzone is a humanitarian act. The arrest warrant was also issued. “something very strange.”

“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.”

“All this is very strange. It seems to me that this is clear confirmation that when you have no other way to intimidate a country, you come up with something absolutely fantastic … Like little children, when they can do nothing else, they just show their fist from somewhere far away,” Lvova-Belova said.

Enforcement?

The warrants have been issued by the ICC’s Judges. However, the international community will enforce them since the ICC does not have a police force.

“The execution depends on international cooperation,” Hofmanski said.

Although it is not clear which countries might assist in efforts to arrest Putin, Russia made it clear that it does not intend to cooperate and views the move as provocative.

“Yankees, hands off Putin!” Vyacheslav Voodin, Russia’s Parliament Speaker, and a close Putin ally, said on Telegram, calling this move evidence of Westernization “hysteria.”

“We regard any attacks on the President of the Russian Federation as aggression against our country,” He added.

According to United Nations data, millions have been displaced by the conflict in Ukraine. There are approximately 2.6 million Ukrainian refugees in Europe, and 2.9 million in Russia.