Arrest warrant against Putin will serve as ‘toilet paper’: Russia

Dmitry Medvedev, the country’s former president and deputy chairman of the Security Council, commented that the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Russian President Vladimir Putin can be used as ‘toilet paper’. In a Twitter post, he joked about the ICC’s arrest warrant. In addition, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the matter as meaningless.

Earlier on Friday, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against Putin accusing him of war crimes in Ukraine. The Hague-based court said in a statement that an arrest warrant had been issued for Putin on charges of illegally transferring children from occupied territories of Ukraine to Russia. However, Moscow does not care about this issue at all. Dmitry Peskov told reporters that issuing an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court has no value, it is ineffective. Because Moscow does not recognize this court. Consequently, any decision of this Court is meaningless.

Russia is not a member of the International Criminal Court. Referring to the matter, the spokesperson of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, said that the decision of the ICC has no value for Russia. In a Telegram post, Zakharova said Russia does not support the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

So Russia is under no obligation to abide by any decision of the ICC.

But as always, former President Dmitry Medvedev has shown a difference from everyone in his response. On Twitter, he compared the arrest warrant to toilet paper. Medvedev said, we all know where to use this paper. Netizens were also seen making fun of this ICC arrest warrant on social media. However, the Ukrainian officials welcomed the ICC’s move. The country’s Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said the arrest warrant is a historic event for Ukraine and the entire international legal system.