MOSCOW — Russia’s ex-president Dmitry Medvedev has warned that makes an attempt to arrest Vladimir Putin overseas after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant towards him could be seen by Moscow as a “declaration of war.”
Medvedev, who served as president between 2008 and 2012, has made more and more hawkish speeches since Putin despatched troops to Ukraine, repeatedly issuing nuclear threats.
Late on Wednesday, he stated Russian weapons would hit a rustic if it arrested Putin.
The ICC, based mostly in The Hague, final week introduced an arrest warrant for the Russian chief, accused of deporting Ukrainian youngsters.
“Let’s imagine—it’s clear that this is a situation that will never happen—but nevertheless let’s imagine it does,” the Putin ally stated.
“The current head of a nuclear state arrives on the territory of, say, Germany, and is arrested. What is this? A declaration of war against the Russian Federation.”
Medvedev stated that if this occurred “all of our means, rockets and others, will fly on the Bundestag, in the Chancellor’s Office and so on.”
Medvedev—who’s deputy chairman of Russia’s safety council—stated the ICC’s determination will make dire relations with the West plunge additional.
His feedback got here two days after Russia opened a felony investigation into ICC prosecutor Karim Khan and a number of other different ICC judges, saying their determination was “unlawful.”
The Hague-based court docket had additionally issued a warrant towards Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s presidential commissioner for kids’s rights.
On Wednesday, the ICC’s legislative physique stated it regretted “threats” towards the tribunal over its warrant.
“The presidency of the assembly regrets these attempts to hinder international efforts to ensure accountability for acts that are prohibited under general international law,” it stated in a press release. — Agence France-Presse
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
