Blinken calls on European governments to detain Vladimir Putin if he visits, turn him over to ICC

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European countries that are party to the International Criminal Court (ICC) should abide by their obligation to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin and turn him over to the court if he enters their country, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday.

Blinken made the statement under questioning from Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing. Graham asked Blinken about the ICC's recent warrant of arrest for Putin and whether the U.S. should detain Putin were he to ever travel here.

"There's an arrest warrant for Putin by the ICC for kidnapping children in Ukraine and taking them to Russia, is that pretty much it?" Graham asked.

"Yup," Blinken responded.

"If Putin came to the United States for whatever reason, would we turn him over to the ICC?" Graham asked.

"Well, I can't get ahead of that because I'd have to look at the laws. As you know, we are not actually a party to the ICC, so I don't want to engage in that hypothetical," Blinken said.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR: INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT LAUNCHES 'LARGEST EVER' PROBE INTO WAR CRIMES

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said European nations that are part of the International Criminal Court should be willing to detain Russian President Vladimir Putin if he ever visited their country. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)

"I would encourage you to, if he came here, to turn him over," Graham said. "Would you encourage our European allies to turn him over?"

"I think that anyone who is a party to the court and has obligations should fulfill their obligations," Blinken responded.

WHAT'S THE ICC THAT ISSUED PUTIN'S ARREST WARRANT AND WHAT CONSEQUENCES DOES HE FACE?

The ICC issued a warrant for Putin's arrest on Friday, alleging that he was party to the abduction of Ukrainian children.

The ICC wrote that Putin "is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation."

Neither the U.S. nor Russia are party to the ICC, and neither assists nor acknowledges the authority of the judicial body.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is the subject of an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court. (Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russian officials dismissed the warrant when asked about it last week, saying Putin was not concerned.

"The decisions of the International Criminal Court have no meaning for our country, including from a legal point of view," Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at the time.

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"Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and does not bear obligations under it," Zakharova said. "Russia does not cooperate with this body, and possible 'recipes' for arrest coming from the International Court of Justice will be legally null and void for us."