Russia’s ex-president Dmitry Medvedev has warned that makes an attempt to arrest Vladimir Putin overseas after the Worldwide Prison Courtroom (ICC) issued a warrant towards him can be seen by Moscow as a “declaration of battle”.
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 mentioned Russian weapons would hit a rustic if it arrested Putin.
The ICC, primarily based in The Hague, final week introduced an arrest warrant for the Russian chief, accused of deporting Ukrainian youngsters.
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“We could say — it is clear that it is a state of affairs that can by no means occur — however however lets say it does,” the Putin ally mentioned.
“The present head of a nuclear state arrives on the territory of, say, Germany, and is arrested. What is that this? A declaration of battle towards the Russian Federation.”
Medvedev mentioned that if this occurred “all of our means, rockets and others, will fly on the Bundestag, within the Chancellor’s Workplace and so forth.”
Medvedev — who’s deputy chairman of Russia’s safety council — mentioned 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 several other different ICC judges, saying their determination was “illegal”.
The Hague-based court docket had additionally issued a warrant towards Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s presidential commissioner for youngsters’s rights.
On Wednesday, the ICC’s legislative physique mentioned it regretted “threats” towards the tribunal over its warrant.
“The presidency of the meeting regrets these makes an attempt to hinder worldwide efforts to make sure accountability for acts which might be prohibited underneath normal worldwide regulation,” it mentioned in an announcement.