Biden: The arrest warrant issued by the "criminal" against Putin is "justified"
US President Joe Biden said Friday that the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court against his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for war crimes is "justified".
The US president said Putin had clearly committed war crimes and that the decision by the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for him was justified.
"It's clear that he committed war crimes," Biden told reporters at the White House, referring to Putin.
Referring to the arrest warrant, he added: "I think that's justified."
Speaking to reporters, Biden said the United States was not part of the ICC, but said its decision sent a "very strong signal."
A U.S. State Department spokesman said in an emailed statement that the United States had separately concluded that Russian forces had committed war crimes in Ukraine and supported accountability for war crimes.
"There is no doubt that Russia is committing war crimes and atrocities in Ukraine, and we have made it clear that those responsible must be held accountable," he said. "This decision was reached independently by the ICC prosecutor based on the facts before him."
The criminal court on Friday called for Putin's arrest on suspicion of responsibility for the deportation of children and the illegal transfer of people from Ukraine to Russia since Moscow's war on February 24, 2022.
On Friday, the court also issued an arrest warrant for Russian Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova Belova on the same charges.
The ICC's action obliges the court's 123 member states to arrest Putin and transfer him to The Hague for trial if he sets foot on their territory.
A U.S.-backed report by researchers at Yale University last month said Russia had detained at least six thousand Ukrainian children in at least 43 camps and facilities within a "large-scale systemic network."
Moscow has repeatedly denied accusations that its forces committed atrocities during their war. The Kremlin said on Friday the ICC decision was "null and void."
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