The EU condemned the threat by Medvedev, who said a missile could hit the court in The Hague
The European Union condemns the threat of the high representative of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, for the use of force against the International Criminal Court and the Netherlands, the country where that institution is located, the head of European diplomacy announced today Joseph Borrell.
Regarding the statement by the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, that a hypersonic missile could hit the court in The Hague, Borrell said that the EU "reaffirms its full support" for the International Criminal Court.
He stated that the EU also condemns the measures announced by Russia against the prosecutors and judges of the International Criminal Court involved in issuing arrest warrants for Russian officials.
"Any measure of retaliation against those involved in his work is unacceptable. While fighting impunity, the International Criminal Court must be able to work independently and impartially, Borrell stressed.
He added that the EU "remains committed to defending the Court against any external interference aimed at obstructing justice and undermining international criminal justice."
"The EU will continue to advocate for the universality of the Rome Statute and calls on all states, which have not yet done so, to consider joining the International Criminal Court, so that there will no longer be impunity for the most serious crimes," Borrell wrote.
Medvedev, a former Russian president, said on Monday that it was "not impossible to imagine a hypersonic missile being fired at the court in The Hague from a Russian ship in the North Sea".
Earlier, on March 17, the International Criminal Court in The Hague announced that it had issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on charges of war crimes, due to his possible involvement in the kidnapping of children from Ukraine. Due to similar accusations, the Hague-based court also issued an arrest warrant for Maria Alekseevna Lvova-Belova, a commissioner in the Office of the President of Russia in charge of children's rights.
