[Dan]

21 MAR
ICC decision against Putin pure propaganda — Indian expert


NEW DELHI, March 21. /TASS/. The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision to issue an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin is nothing more than propaganda and is not a legally-binding document, Nandan Unnikrishnan of the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation told TASS on Tuesday.

"This ICC decision is absolutely propagandistic. Its goal is to fan tensions around Russia, to bring further charges against Moscow, to demonstrate that it is wrong. And that supposedly Moscow cannot get away with it," he said. "Especially since we know that neither the United States nor Russia nor China are members of the Rome Statute and do not recognize this court. That is why this decision is an absolutely propagandistic step, nothing more."

According to the expert, India is not a signatory to the Rome Statute either, although it actively participated in the document’s drafting. Nevertheless, in his words, even if India were a signatory to it, it would never take any measures against the Russian leader.

"Under no circumstances would India take any action against Putin, much less arrest him. Even if India were a member of this court. I am sure of that," Unnikrishnan said, adding that it is not in India’s interests to spoil its exclusive relations with Moscow.

India took part in the work of the steering committee for the ICC’s establishment. It also participated in the founding Rome Conference organized by the United Nations in 1998. However, later India refrained from signing the Rome Statute objecting against a number of provisions in the final edition of the documents. There are now 123 nations that are parties to the Rome Statute, including the United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan.