European Union says Putin could be arrested “immediately” in more than 130 countries

This Monday, the high representative of the European Union (EU) for foreign affairs, Josep Borrell, pointed out that the president of Russia, Vladimir Putinmust be stopped “immediately” if you travel “to one of the more than 130 countries that have signed this international treaty”, that is, the Rome Statute, which codifies war crimes in detail. This measure was implemented by the International Criminal Court (ICC) since 1998.

As recalled, last Friday, the ICC issued an arrest warrant against Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russian presidential commissioner for Children’s Rights, for having deported Ukrainian minors to Russia. And following the objective of the high court treaty, this would indeed be the case of a war crime.

Borrell added that “it is very important and changes the rules of the game”, he also referred to the Russian authorities who dismiss the decision of the high court and ensure that Russia has not signed the treaty. “Let’s see its practical consequences,” he responded to the press upon his arrival at a Council of EU Foreign and Defense Ministers.

The head of community diplomacy emphasized that relevant events have occurred during the war with Ukraine. “The first, the agreement of the Black Sea (for the export of Ukrainian grain), is good news. The second, also important, is the decision of the International Criminal Court regarding President Putin,” he explained.

Along the same lines, Borrell admitted that “something that must be taken into account, because we can negotiate with whoever we wantbut this decision of the court is still valid”, he highlighted.

For his part, the Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, stated that his country hopes that war crimes in Ukraine should not go unpunished. “We want peace and justice in Ukraine and, for there to be justice, there can be no crimes with impunity, and those who have committed them must answer for their actions before the International Criminal Court, whose attorney general and whose investigation, as you are well aware , Spain supports from the beginning”, he pointed out.

Her French counterpart, Catherine Colonna, joined in saying that “no one responsible for the chain of crimes can escape Justice.” Similarly, the Lithuanian incumbent, Gabrielius Landsbergis, stressed that this is a “legal step forward, but also a moral one.”

“No one should have impunity for the crimes committed in Ukraine during Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” said Romanian Minister Bogdan Aurescu, who was to brief the Council on the first high-level conference his country will organize jointly with Ukraine in Bucharest. , in April, on security in the Black Sea. “It will be a very important occasion to draw lessons from the war and see what we can do to have a more secure region in the future,” he concluded.

Source-larepublica.pe