German foreign minister: 'International law is clear' regarding need to arrest war criminals
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German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that "international law is clear" regarding war criminals and called on South Africa to adhere to it if Russian dictator Vladimir Putin attended the upcoming BRICS summit, Zeit reported on June 2.
"International law is clear on this point. War criminals and those responsible for waging aggressive wars will eventually be held accountable," Baerbock said, adding that Russia's war was not only a "European matter" but one that affected the whole world.
The South African Foreign Ministry released a statement on May 30 claiming that it was a "standard" procedure meant "for the conference and not for specific individuals."
The ICC issued arrest warrants on March 17 for Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian official who is allegedly managing the forced deportations of tens of thousands of Ukrainian children to Russian territory.
South Africa is one of the 123 countries party to the Rome Statute which established the ICC, meaning that it is obliged by international law to arrest Putin if he enters its territory.
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