ICC’s war crimes case against Putin “justified” - Biden

U.S. President Joe Biden says the International Criminal Court’s case against Russian President Vladimir Putin “makes a very strong point,” as he voiced support for the investigation into Putin’s alleged war crimes.

“I think it’s justified,” Biden told reporters, according to CNN, “but the question is, it’s not recognized internationally by us, either. But I think it makes a very strong point,” Ukrinform reports.

Biden later told reporters that Putin had “clearly committed war crimes.”

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on March 17, 2023, judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Children's Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova.

Both are suspected of committing war crimes - the illegal deportation and transfer of the population, including children, from the occupied territory of Ukraine, at least since February 24, 2022.

The ICC said on Friday there “are reasonable grounds to believe that Putin bears individual criminal responsibility” for the alleged crimes, for having committed them directly alongside others, and for “his failure to exercise control properly over civilian and military subordinates who committed the acts.”

The ICC charges are the first to be formally lodged against officials in Moscow since its war on Ukraine began last year.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the ICC’s “historic” decision.

The White House in a statement earlier Friday welcomed “accountability for perpetrators of war crimes.”

“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. The ICC Prosecutor is an independent actor and makes his own prosecutorial decisions based on the evidence before him. We support accountability for perpetrators of war crimes,” National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said.