The Chinese presidency was asked to comment on the arrest warrant issued against Vladimir Putin, accused of “illegal deportation” of Ukrainian children in the context of the war in Ukraine.
INTERNATIONAL – It is no longer one slip away. The former Russian president risks being slapped on the knuckles after his new outing, as Russia welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping to its soil with great fanfare, for the first time since the start of the war in Ukraine.
While Vladimir Putin is preparing to welcome his Chinese counterpart on Monday March 20 in order to breathe “new impetus” into Sino-Russian relations, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev did not fail to stand out with a new release regarding the arrest warrant issued against Vladimir Putin at the end of last week.
After comparing the International Criminal Court (ICC) and its arrest warrant to toilet paper on Friday, Dmitry Medvedev was less tender on Monday by threatening the international court in The Hague (Netherlands) with an air strike.
After calling the ICC “shitty and useless”, the former Russian head of state, now vice-president of the Russian Security Council, declared: “The tribunal is just a miserable international organization, not the population of a NATO country. So they won’t start a war for that. They are afraid. And no one will regret it. So, citizen judges, take a good look at the sky…”.
“All the stupid decisions of the UN and other structures will come to light. The dark twilight of the whole system of international relations is looming on the horizon. Trust is exhausted, ”Dmitry Medvedev said in a Telegram message broadcast on Monday morning. Not stingy with flowery language against the ICC, he even believes that “the episode (…) which killed the credibility (…) of the court concerns American crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq. The court shit themselves on it and couldn’t do anything.
” Two weights, two measures “
China had also been critical of the warrant issued by the ICC on Friday, with more tweezers, however, asking it to avoid the ” Two weights, two measures ” this Monday.
A Chinese reaction that comes just hours before the start of Xi Jinping’s state visit to Russia, the first in nearly four years. “The International Criminal Court must adopt an objective and impartial position, respect the immunity from jurisdiction of heads of state under international law”Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for Chinese diplomacy, said on Monday in response to a question on the subject.
The institution must “avoid politicization and the politics of double standards”, he pointed out to the press, in a reference to other military interventions that did not give rise to any arrest warrant from the Head of State. Wang Wenbin was questioned on the opportunity for Xi Jinping to confirm his state visit to Russia despite this international arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin.
“China will maintain its objective and fair stance on the Ukraine crisis and play a constructive role in promoting peace talks,” was content to comment on this spokesperson for Chinese diplomacy, shortly before the Chinese president set foot in Russia.
As a reminder, China has not publicly condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and criticizes the United States for its arms deliveries to Ukraine as well as NATO for not having taken into account Russian concerns in matters of security. But Beijing retains an assumed part of neutrality by continuing to call for dialogue as well as respect for the territorial integrity of all States, including therefore Ukraine.
Investigation opened in Moscow against the ICC
At the same time, Russia announced on Monday the opening of a criminal investigation against the prosecutor and three judges of the International Criminal Court. These magistrates, including ICC prosecutor Karim Khan, “issued illegal decisions (aiming to) arrest the President of the Russian Federation and the Commissioner for Children’s Rights”the Russian Investigative Committee said in a statement.
“A criminal investigation has been opened”it is specified.
Karim Khan, the ICC prosecutor, is thus targeted on the grounds of having “committed criminal proceedings against a person known to be innocent, combined with the unlawful accusation of having committed a serious or particularly serious crime”as well as “preparing an attack on a representative of a foreign state”.
Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.fr/