ICC prosecutors: Putin's arrest warrant will remain in force even if negotiations lead to amnesty
Vladimir Putin (Photo: ERA)

International Criminal Court warrants for the arrest of the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and five of his associates accused of war crimes in Ukraine will remain in force, even if a general amnesty is approved as a result of peace talks. This was stated by the ICC prosecutors on December 5, transmits Reuters.

Deputy prosecutors Mame Mandiae Niang of Senegal and Najat Shamim Khan of Fiji said that a United Nations Security Council resolution was needed to suspend the warrants.

"If a peace agreement is reached that would then allow the Security Council to ask us to postpone the investigation, then this issue is a political process. But as far as we're concerned... at the end of the day, it won't prevent justice from being served," said Deputy Prosecutor Khan.

Deputy Prosecutor Niang said that the ICC is obliged to adhere to the statute, which "does not give importance to some of these political arrangements".

Ukraine's ambassador to the Netherlands, Andriy Kostin, rejected the idea of a general amnesty in a commentary to Reuters.

"Given such massive atrocities committed in these years, it is impossible to leave unpunished all those responsible, all those who committed these crimes and ordered them," he said.

  • march 17, 2023 ISS issued an arrest warrant russian dictator Putin and Russian Children's Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova. The court is also looking for former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov.
  • on May 19, 2025, it became known that the head of North Korea could stand trial in The Hague for helping Russia in its war against Ukraine.