On Monday China called on the International Criminal Court(ICC) to avoid what it called “double standards” and respect immunity for leaders of state after the judiciary issued an arrest warrant for Russian leader Vladimir Putin on warfare offenses charges.
The court should “uphold an objective and impartial stance” and “respect the immunity of heads of state from jurisdiction under international law”, foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a regular briefing. Wang also advised the court to “avoid politicization and double standards”, highlighting the solution to the Ukraine conflict remained “discussion and negotiation”.
The International Criminal Court on Friday announced an arrest warrant for Russia’s leader Putin on the charge of unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children. While Russia has disregarded the charges as “void”, and with Russia, not a party to the ICC it is undefined if or how Putin could ever be extradited to encounter the charge.
The warrant came just days before a visit of Chinese leader Xi Jinping to Russia, a trip he characterized as a “journey of friendship, cooperation and peace”. Xi is due to land in Russia on Monday, holding talks with Putin and signing an agreement before heading back to China on Wednesday.
Wang told the Monday briefing that the two sides will practice genuine multilateralism, promote democracy in international relations, build a multipolar world, improve global governance and contribute to world development and progress.
