Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit to the Ukrainian province of Crimea this Saturday, which Moscow annexed in 2014 in an internationally unrecognized move, to mark the ninth anniversary of annexation day, media reported.
Together with the governor of Sevastopol, Putin visited the children’s art center – a choice that was seen as a kind of response to the International Criminal Court. Earlier in the day, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Putin and Russia’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, saying there was sufficient evidence that they were involved in the forced transfer of thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia or Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine. (Like Crimea).
UN This is the ICC’s first arrest warrant for officials from one of the five permanent members of the Security Council. In October last year, the ICC reopened its investigation into serious crimes in Afghanistan, including crimes committed by US forces.
Neither the United States nor Russia have ratified the Rome Statute that created the ICC, but countries where the crimes were committed can apply for jurisdiction even if they are non-signatories, like Ukraine (which Afghanistan is a signatory to). By doing so, they agree to the investigation of crimes committed by any party to the conflict.
Putin has yet to make any public comment on the warrant, but a Foreign Ministry spokesman said late Friday that he considered it to have no value, “including the law.” In practice, the warrant means that Putin cannot travel to countries that have signed the agreement without arrest.
In 2015, South Africa’s Supreme Court ordered his arrest during a visit to Sudan in 2015. (Bashir fled the country even before his arrest against the court order).
However, Putin has not traveled since the day of the large-scale invasion of Ukraine that began on February 24, 2022 (the exception being a visit to his Belarusian ally in Minsk) and before that, with the pandemic, he rarely traveled. .
However, the ICC ruling was seen as having great symbolic significance for Ukraine, its Western allies and human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch.
Putin’s remarks were not made public during his visit to Crimea, with only the Russian president standing next to the governor of the peninsula’s largest city during the visit. Previously, Putin would have commented only that “security issues in Crimea and Sevastopol are a high priority at the moment.”
This Saturday, the pro-Russian governor of the province, Mikhail Razvozhaiev, made an announcement on Telegram: “Our President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin knows how to surprise. In a good way,” he declared. “He’s here in person”, he underlined when only one video participation was expected. “On such a historic date, the President is always with Sevastopol and the people of Sevastopol.”
From Europe, there were reports reminding that the merger was illegal and unrecognized, with the foreign ministry of Finland or Sweden issuing statements on the anniversary, broadcaster Euronews noted.
Grain contract extension
An extension of a deal to produce grain from Ukraine through the Black Sea was announced Saturday, a deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, although Ukraine said the deal would remain. Russia said it would be in force for the next 120 days and only for 60 days.
A Foreign Ministry spokesman sent a copy of the Permanent Mission’s letter to the United Nations, saying Moscow would not object to a 60-day extension of the agreement, according to Reuters.
But he said a new extension was “possible” after “concrete progress” in “exports of Russian food and fertilizers,” the British agency also cited. Moscow says these exports are not targeted by Western sanctions imposed following the invasion and war in Ukraine, but are affected by sanctions affecting payment systems, logistics and insurance.
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