The Kremlin is not concerned about the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov, Putin's official spokesman told reporters on Monday, March 20, RIA Novosti reports.
"We have seen so many openly hostile manifestations in relation to both our country and our president in the world <…> If we take each of those hostile decisions close to heart, nothing good will come out of it. We take it easy. We take note of everything. We continue working, the president continues working as well," Peskov said.
On March 17, the ICC issued warrants for the "arrest" of Vladimir Putin and Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova. The decision was made against the backdrop of the crisis in Ukraine. According to the ICC, Putin and Lvova-Belova are responsible for a war crime in which the population (children) were illegally deported from the occupied territories of Ukraine to Russia."
Maria Zakharova, an official representative for the Russian Foreign Ministry, later said that Moscow was not attaching any importance to ICC's decisions. Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Zakharova added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the decision of the ICC "a significant international legal achievement for Ukraine." US President Joe Biden found the decision justified.
ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan said the court warrant was regrettable and should not be used as a cause for celebration. He also pointed out that the court had no choice. "The evidence made us act that way,” he said.