Putin Should Be Arrested If He Visits an ICC State: Blinken

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a Senate hearing Wednesday that any party to the International Criminal Court (ICC) should arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin if he visits their country.
The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin on Friday after the court concluded that the Russian leader is “allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.” The international treaty is made up of 123 member states, and launched an investigation into possible war crimes being committed in Ukraine in March 2022, after nearly 40 ICC members placed a request.
Blinken discussed Putin’s recent arrest warrant while appearing before the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs on Wednesday, facing questions from South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham on whether the U.S. would arrest Putin if he were to visit.
“As you know, we’re not actually a party to the ICC, so I don’t want to engage in that hypothetical,” Blinken said in response to Graham, adding later, “I don’t think [Putin] has any plans to travel here soon.”
Graham then asked the secretary if he “would encourage our European allies to turn him over,” to which Blinken responded, “I think that anybody who is a party to the court, and has obligations, should fulfill their obligations.”
Although the U.S. is not a member of the ICC, a few of its closest allies are, including the United Kingdom, Canada and France.
Former national security adviser John Bolton previously said that the U.S. should not “cooperate” with the treaty’s arrest warrant, adding, “I believe and have for many years the International Criminal Court is fundamentally illegitimate.”
“This is not in any way to excuse Putin’s conduct of the war, but there are jurisdictions that can try him—Ukraine in particular, and ultimately a free Russia to try him,” Bolton said while appearing on Sky News Monday.
Chinese President Xi Jinping also said Monday that Putin is immune to the ICC’s allegations.
According to interviews conducted by Radio Echo of the Caucasus this week, some Russian citizens are skeptical if the ICC could carry out the arrest warrant for Putin. Others said that the “people of Russia” will “protect” Putin from the allegations.
As Newsweek previously reported, there are 70 countries within the United Nations that are not under the jurisdiction of the ICC warrant, and Putin is still able to visit countries like Iran and India, both having grown their partnership with Moscow since its invasion of Ukraine.
Newsweek has reached out to the ICC via its website portal for comment.