Month: August 2024

Mongolia has obligations under the Rome Statute, the international court has said

Mongolia must detain Russian President Vladimir Putin because it is a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), a spokesman for the Hague-based body has said.

Putin is scheduled to visit Russia’s neighbor on Monday, to mark the 85th anniversary of a major World War II battle. This would theoretically put him at risk of arrest on the ICC’s “war crimes” warrant, as Ulaanbaatar recognizes the court’s jurisdiction.

All states that signed the Rome Statute “have the obligation to cooperate in accordance with Chapter IX,” ICC spokesman Fadi el-Abdallah told the BBC on Friday. The Rome Statute is an international treaty that set up the court, which Mongolia ratified in 2002.

“In case of non-cooperation, ICC judges may make a finding to that effect and inform the Assembly of States Parties of it. It is then for the Assembly to take any measure it deems appropriate,” el-Abdallah said.

The Rome Statute provides for exemptions when arresting someone would “breach a treaty obligation” with another country or violate the “diplomatic immunity of a person or property of a third state.”

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Putin ‘not worried’ about ICC warrant on Mongolia trip – Kremlin

Ukraine has also filed an official demand with Mongolia to arrest Putin, according to the government in Kiev.

Moscow “has no concerns” about the ICC warrant, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters earlier on Friday, noting that all possible issues concerning Putin’s visit have been “worked out separately” in advance.

The ICC issued a warrant for Putin’s arrest in March 2023, accusing the Russian president of “unlawful deportation of population (children)” and “unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.” 

Moscow has rejected the claims as ridiculous, noting that the evacuation of civilians from combat zones was not a crime. Moreover, neither Russia nor Ukraine is party to the Rome Statute, meaning that the ICC has no jurisdiction in the matter.

Putin is expected to attend a ceremony commemorating the 1939 Battle of Khalkhin Gol. The decisive victory of the Red Army and its Mongolian allies over the Imperial Japanese Army secured the Soviet Union’s eastern flank until 1945.

A series of pauses in fighting are due to begin this weekend in Gaza to allow vaccination against polio.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed his air force chief after one of the country’s F-16 fighter jets crashed while repelling a Russian air attack, killing the pilot, Oleksiy Mes. “We need to protect people. Protect personnel. Take care of all our soldiers,” Zelensky said in an address.

Much of Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank has reportedly lost water access due to an Israeli military assault.

There was no new ammunition for Republicans, but it highlighted the challenge she faces in pitching herself as a change candidate.

The strikes, which left at least five other dead, also hit a 12-storey building in the eastern city.

Sahra Wagenknecht, an outspoken critic of Berlin’s policies on Ukraine, was giving a speech when she was sprayed with red paint

Veteran German left-wing politician Sahra Wagenknecht was splattered with red paint at a rally on Thursday, in an incident that her associates linked to her stance against arming Ukraine. A suspect has been detained.

Earlier this year, the firebrand MP split from the Left Party to establish the eponymous Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) – a movement that is left-leaning on economic policy but closer to the far right on hot-button issues such as immigration.

She has repeatedly lambasted German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government over its support for Ukraine.

During a campaign rally in Erfurt on Thursday evening, a man believed to be in his early 50s doused the podium with red paint. Wagenknecht escaped unscathed with a few specks of paint on her head, neck and upper body, according to her party’s spokesperson, Steffen Quasebarth. He added that the attacker appeared to have used a medical syringe.

The politician vacated the podium, but returned soon afterwards.

The offender was pinned to the ground and handcuffed by security personnel. Local media quoted the police as saying he is now being investigated for criminal damage to property. While his motive remains unknown, authorities believe it may have been political, the ZDF broadcaster reported.

Die WELT quoted Quasebarth and another member of Wagenknecht’s party as saying the attacker was shouting something either in Ukrainian or Russian, presumably making a reference to the military conflict between Kiev and Moscow.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) late on Thursday, Wagenknecht said she was unharmed, but feeling “shock in my bones.”

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German MPs snub Zelensky

“But don’t worry: we will not allow to intimidate us!” the politician wrote.

Back in 2016, the left-wing MP was pelted with a cake over her stance on immigration.

Speaking at a rally in Berlin in June, Wagenknecht protested Berlin’s “crazy” decision to allow Ukraine to conduct long-range strikes into Russian territory.

“What scares me the most [is] the great danger that the war in Ukraine will become a major European war… they are crossing one red line after the other,” she argued at the time.

The politician called on the West to “stop playing with fire,” stressing the importance of attempts at a peaceful settlement.

“War does not end with weapons, war is ended with peace talks,” Wagenknecht argued.

He will remain Venezuela’s de facto president, according to Josep Borrell

The EU’s foreign ministers have agreed that they will not recognize the “democratic legitimacy” of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro following the country’s election last month, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told a press conference on Thursday.

Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry has previously condemned the EU’s failure to respect the sovereignty and independence of the South American nation and warned that this could considerably affect diplomatic relations.

Maduro won 52% of the vote in a presidential election in July, securing himself a third term in office. The opposition, however, has claimed that the vote was rigged. Maduro’s main rival, Western-backed Edmundo Gonzalez, was officially recognized by the US as Venezuela’s president-elect earlier this month.

According to Borrell, who said that Gonzalez was invited to participate in the EU meeting, the ministers made their decision as Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) did not respond to its calls to provide credible data.

The CNE declared on July 28 that Maduro had officially won the country’s presidential election and ratified his victory.

Russia, China and Caracas’ regional allies have congratulated the incumbent on his victory. However, the Venezuelan opposition, most Latin American states and the G7 nations have refused to recognize the results, expressing “serious concerns” about the integrity of the electoral process.

“We cannot accept the legitimacy of Maduro as elected president,” Borrell told reporters in Brussels. “He will remain president, de facto … But we deny democratic legitimacy based on a result that cannot be verified,” the diplomat claimed, stressing that Thursday’s decision is a “strong statement” by the EU.

Euronews cited a diplomatic source as saying that there was no consensus among the EU ministers to recognize the electoral victory of Gonzales.

READ MORE: Venezuela confirms election winner

Caracas has opened a criminal investigation against Gonzales and other opposition leaders for inciting “insurrection” with false claims of electoral victory and calls for street unrest.

According to the government, more than 20 people have been killed and more than 190 injured in election-related riots, while over 2,400 people have been arrested.

Caracas has accused Washington of planning yet another coup in Venezuela. The US likewise refused to recognize the 2018 election and recognized lawmaker Juan Guaido as “interim president,” going so far as to confiscate Venezuelan gold and other assets for his benefit. The Venezuelan opposition voted to dissolve his “interim government” in December 2022, after which Guaido faded into obscurity.

Anera says Thursday’s attack killed several people from a company that was transporting supplies for the aid group.