Friday's issuance by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of an arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin for war crimes in Ukraine is an "extremely important" decision, said French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna in an interview with Sunday newspaper.
"This decision is extremely important because it means that anyone responsible for war crimes or crimes against humanity will be held accountable, regardless of their status or rank," said the head of French diplomacy. "Now no link in the chain can think that he will escape justice and this should give many people pause for thought, so it is a decision that can change the course of events. »
The ruling by the ICC, which sits in The Hague, concerns the "deportation" of thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia since the start of the conflict with Ukraine a year ago, which constitutes a war crime.
While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called it "historic", Moscow derided it as "null and void" because Russia is not a member of the ICC and therefore does not recognize the jurisdiction of this court, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
"France supports the Court, just as it helps Ukrainian justice by sending specialized teams to document the abuses or identify the victims," commented Catherine Colonna.
Asked about the deliveries of thirteen MiG-29 fighters by Slovakia and four others by Poland announced this week, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs replied that "everything that helps Ukraine is useful".
“Countries that have Soviet materials that Ukrainians already know about were able to make that decision. […] To counter (the Russian offensive), Ukraine must be able to resist with the means available now,” she added.
As for the future delivery of more advanced combat aircraft by France, "in principle, the President of the Republic and the Minister of the Armed Forces have said it, there is no taboo", repeated the chief. of French diplomacy.
Consult our file: War in Ukraine
