Russia not obligated to cooperate with ICC on Ukraine 'investigation'
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson has stated that Russia does not participate in the Rome Statute of the ICC and is not obligated to cooperate with it.
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RRussian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova
Russia is under no obligation to collaborate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in its "probe" in Ukraine, according to Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova.
According to the diplomat, Moscow drew attention to the International Criminal Court's prosecutor's office joining the Joint Investigation Group of Poland, Lithuania, and Ukraine on April 25, which was formed under the auspices of Eurojust.
"As for the ICC prosecutor’s office, this move demonstrates that it does not even try to maintain at least a semblance of impartiality and objectivity, and enthusiastically joins the process, in which the perpetrators are clearly appointed in advance. If anyone else had doubts that the ICC was a body fulfilling political orders and having nothing to do with independent justice, the new 'creative' format of work makes everything extremely clear," Zakharova said in a statement.
She added that the investigative team's membership showed that nothing but denigration of Russia could be expected.
"We remind you that Russia does not participate in the Rome Statute of the ICC and is not obligated to cooperate with it. Nevertheless, we will continue to closely monitor how this body operates," Zakharova added.
Human rights organizations from the DPR and LPR provided the ICC a substantial amount of evidence — over 3,000 papers on crimes against the people of Donbass — but there has been no apparent reply from Hague justice to the facts presented, she continued.
