Handcuffs for Putin: How Many Countries Are Ready to Arrest the Kremlin Head on the Basis of the ICC Warrant

After the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 17, 32 countries have now declared their willingness to arrest him. The list includes some of those states that the Kremlin considered friendly.

The Russian-speaking Estonian online edition of "We can explain. The journalists also published a map of the closed for the Kremlin leader part of the world (to view the news, scroll to the end).

It is noted that recently the South African authorities have advised Putin not to come to the summit of BRICS in August 2023, offering to participate via video link. The reason was the arrest warrant for the Russian dictator issued by the ICC, whose powers the republic recognizes.

"We have no option not to arrest Putin. If he comes here, we have to arrest him," the South African official said.

Back on March 19, South African presidential spokesman Vincent Magvenya said the republic "is aware of its legal obligation" to arrest the Russian head of state.

On March 20, justice ministers from 26 EU member states issued a joint statement in which they expressed their readiness "to fight impunity for the crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine. At the time, only Hungary did not sign the document.

Notably, even Brazil (like South Africa, Russia's BRICS partner) said on March 21 that it respects and recognizes the ICC decision. Later, on March 23, North Macedonia joined the list.

Meanwhile, Russia's partner in the CSTO and EEU, Armenia, ratified the Rome Statute on March 24. The Russian Foreign Ministry deemed it "absolutely unacceptable" against the background of Putin's arrest warrant. On April 1, vice-speaker of the Armenian parliament Hakob Arshakyan said that the republic "heard Moscow's concerns" and had no intention of arresting Putin in case of his visit to the country.

As of today, a total of 32 countries have announced their readiness to imprison the head of Russia upon his arrival on their territory. And the BRICS summit is not the only conference that the Russian dictator will miss. After the start of the war against Ukraine, other formats where Putin was regularly present, such as the UN General Assembly and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, are also inaccessible to him.

As reported by OBOZREVATEL, the issuance of an international arrest warrant for the Russian dictator became a high-profile event, actively discussed on the network. Internet users reacted to the Hague's decision to arrest Putin with funny photos and memes.

Only verified information in our Telegram channel Obozrevatel and Viber. Don't be fooled by fakes!