Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and therefore does not recognize any decisions handed down by the Hague-based ICC, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, commenting on arrest warrants issued by the ICC against Sergey Kobylash, commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces’ Long-Range Aviation, and Russian Black Sea Fleet Commander Viktor Sokolov. The Kremlin official noted: “We do not participate in the Statute, we do not recognize it. So we treat such decisions accordingly.”
“This is not the first decision [by the ICC against Russia],” Peskov reiterated. Earlier, the court, unrecognized by Moscow, issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Children’s Rights Ombudswoman Maria Lvova-Belova. Putin’s press secretary also noted that “various [non-transparent] closed-door processes are underway” at the ICC.
Earlier, the ICC published a press release announcing its decision to issue arrest warrants for Kobylash and Sokolov. The document contends that both Russian commanders are liable for war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed within the context of the Ukrainian conflict.
source: TASS
