ICC arrest warrant for Putin ‘extremely important’ decision for Paris

Friday’s issuance by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin for war crimes in Ukraine is an “extremely important” decision, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said in an interview published in a Sunday newspaper.

“This decision is extremely important because it means that everyone who is guilty of war crimes or crimes against humanity will have to be held accountable, regardless of their status or rank,” the head of French diplomacy said.

“Now no link in the chain can think that he will escape justice, and this should make many people think,” she continues, “so this decision can change the course of events.” The ICC decision, which sits in The Hague, concerns the “deportation” of thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia after the outbreak of conflict with Ukraine a year ago, which is a war crime.

“France supports the Court”

While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called it “historic,” Moscow derided it as “invalid” because Russia is not a member of the ICC and therefore does not recognize that court’s jurisdiction, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

“France supports the Court, just as it helps Ukrainian justice by sending specialized teams to the scene to document violations or identify victims,” commented Catherine Colonna. Asked about this week’s announced delivery of 13 MiG-29 fighters by Slovakia and 4 more by Poland, the French Foreign Minister replied that “everything that helps Ukraine is useful.”

“Countries that have Soviet materials that are already known to Ukrainians were able to make this decision. (…) In order to resist (the Russian offensive), Ukraine must be able to resist with the means now available,” she added. As for the future supply of more advanced combat aircraft by France, “in principle, the President of the Republic and the Minister of the Armed Forces spoke about this, there are no taboos,” repeated the head of French diplomacy.