They were not ready and are waiting for the list to be expanded: how the Kremlin reacted to Putin’s arrest warrant

The decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague to issue an arrest warrant for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin came as a surprise to the Kremlin.

This was reported by Medusa, citing sources close to the Russian President’s administration.

The warrant was perceived in the Kremlin as the West’s “most unexpected step”, for which the Russian authorities were not prepared.

Next year, presidential elections are to be held in Russia. Therefore, in 2023, the Kremlin planned to promote Putin’s image as a kind of “fighter against the West,” “defender of Latin America and Africa from colonial oppression,” and “one of the main leaders of the multipolar world.” Such narratives were prepared, in particular, for the domestic Russian audience.

However, for this purpose, Putin would have to travel abroad, and the ICC’s decision significantly restricts his movement. Thus, the dictator can be detained on a warrant in 123 countries that have ratified the Rome Statute of the ICC.

Sources told the publication that the Kremlin does not yet fully understand how to “guarantee Putin’s safety” Putin in such circumstances.

For example, even among the members of the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) there is a country that has ratified the Rome Statute: Tajikistan.

– Even the CIS is no longer a safe space (for Putin. – Ed.),” said one of the sources.

According to the newspaper, the Kremlin doubts that Putin could be arrested in any of the countries that used to be part of the USSR. However, they still do not rule out that “tenths, hundredths of a percent (of the probability of this – Ed.) are always there.”

There are already difficulties with the dictator’s foreign visits. In particular, in August of this year, the BRICS group of countries, which includes Russia, is to hold a summit in South Africa. The South African authorities have already announced that they have “taken note” of the ICC warrant.

In 2022, despite the full-scale war against Ukraine, the Kremlin dictator regularly traveled abroad to participate in summits and forums: to Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Armenia.

According to the interlocutors of the publication, such trips were important for Russian propaganda, which told the Russian population that “Russia still has more friends than enemies.”

– Restrictions on foreign visits will work in the opposite direction. Prior to the order, Putin’s trips were combined with foreign leaders’ visits to Moscow. “Now it will not be possible to maintain the same frequency of meetings: you cannot constantly invite everyone to your place,” said one of the interlocutors close to the Kremlin.

The sources called Putin’s detention “impossible” because the dictator simply will not travel to countries where he can be arrested.

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant not only for Putin, but also for Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova, who is a key figure in the system of forced deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.

Because of this, the Kremlin expects to expand the list of officials for whom ICC warrants will be issued. It may include, for example, governors of the Russian regions where children from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine were deported.

However, according to Kremlin officials, this will not affect their lives, since “in fact, civil servants do not travel abroad” because of the war.

As you know, the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin in the case of the forced deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.

As explained by ICC prosecutor Kareem Khan, the warrant is for life and will be valid until the Russian president is brought to justice.