Kremlin spokesperson slams ICC as a 'puppet in Western hands'

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Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov considered that the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague has become a puppet in the hands of the collective West, adding that the warrant for the "arrest" against Russian President Vladimir Putin serves to put pressure on Russia.

"In this situation, we believe that this international body is essentially a puppet in the hands of the so-called collective West, which uses it for its own purposes in order to further increase pressure on our country," Peskov said in an interview for the ATV channel.

The Russian official pointed out that some states that lack sovereignty "may hypothetically be interested in fulfilling this order" if given the opportunity. However, according to Peskov, this is hard to imagine.

On March 17, the ICC issued a warrant for the arrest of Putin and Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova, citing the alleged "unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation."

The Kremlin noted that Russia is not a party to the ICC, thus the court's decision is legally null and void for the country.

Read more: Russia initiates proceedings against ICC prosecutor, judges: Committee

In the context of the conditions that led up to the war in Ukraine, Peskov indicated that a series of Western mistakes forced Russia to launch a special military operation in Ukraine, stressing that Russia is too big and powerful a state to be treated like this or to surrender.

"It's hard to say what the future will be like. Now all events are happening so fast, we are limited in our ability to make forecasts, whether it is about the economy or politics... Western countries have done many bad things and made many mistakes, and thereby forced Russia to start its special operation," Peskov told the ATV channel.

According to Peskov, "Western countries deceived us after the collapse of the USSR, they also organized six waves of NATO expansion."

"This system of mistakes led to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin deciding to launch the operation. Russia is too big a state to be treated like that and Russia is too strong a country to give up," he explained.

Read more: Russia could potentially target key Western infrastructure: NATO