By: John Hudson and Missy Ryan
https://muckrack.com/johnhudsonfp
https://muckrack.com/missy-ryan
European countries should detain Vladimir Putin and turn him over to the International Criminal Court if the Russian president visits their countries, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told lawmakers Wednesday.
Blinken's remarks, made in response to a line of questioning, follow the court's decision last week to issue an arrest warrant for Putin that accuses him of being personally responsible for the abductions of children from Ukraine - the first time the global court has issued a warrant against a leader of one of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.
>>"Would you encourage our European allies to turn him over?" Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) asked Blinken during a budget hearing.
>>"Anyone who is a party to the court and has obligations should fulfill their obligations," Blinken said.
Putin is unlikely to visit hostile European countries anytime soon, especially in light of the ICC arrest warrant - a decision that garnered the court both praise for standing up against Putin and criticism for potentially closing diplomatic pathways for reaching a political resolution that ends his war in Ukraine.
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/europe-should-detain-putin-give-him-to-icc-if-he-17853896.php