US President Joe Biden said Russian leader Vladimir Putin has committed war crimes as the war Moscow is waging in Ukraine continues. Biden added that the charges for Putin’s arrest by the International Criminal Court were also justified.
Biden told reporters on Friday last week that Putin has clearly committed war crimes and that the charges the ICC pressed on the Russian leader were justified. This follows the ICC’s issuance of an arrest warrant for Putin on suspicion of unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children and the unlawful transfer of Ukrainians to Russia since the invasion in February last year.
“He’s clearly committed war crimes,” said Biden.
“Well, I think it’s justified,” said the US leader, referring to the arrest warrant. “But the question is – it’s not recognized internationally by us either. But I think it makes a very strong point.”
While the United States is not a member of the ICC, Washington has separately concluded that Moscow has committed war crimes in Ukraine, expressing support for accountability for the perpetrators of war crimes, said a spokesperson for the US State Department.
“There is no doubt that Russia is committing war crimes and atrocities in Ukraine, and we have been clear that those responsible must be held accountable,” said the spokesperson in an emailed statement to Reuters. “This was a decision the ICC prosecutor reached independently based on the facts before him.”
The ICC order obligates the court’s 123 member countries to arrest Putin and transfer him to The Hague for trial should he set foot in their territories. The ICC also issued an arrest warrant for the Russian commissioner for children’s rights, Marie Lvova-Belova, for the same charges.
Meanwhile, the United States has resumed its surveillance flights over the Black Sea following an incident where a Russian fighter jet downed a US drone, according to two US officials. The officials said a US RQ-4 Global Hawk flew to the region on Friday. One official added that it was the first drone flight since the incident, which Pentagon officials stressed would not stop the US from flying such missions.
The incident of the Russian fighter jet’s downing of a US drone was the first direct incident between Washington and Moscow since the invasion, further straining relations between Russia and the US.