Russian Security Council dismisses ICC’s decision about Shoigu as 'hot air'

The Russian Security Council dismissed the decision of a pre-trial chamber at the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for the agency’s secretary, Sergey Shoigu, as a part of the West’s hybrid war that has no legal effect.

"The decision of the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court about Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu is null and void. It is hot air, as the ICC does not have jurisdiction in Russia, and it was taken as part of the West's hybrid war against our country," the agency said.

The ICC was established by the Rome Statute of 1998. There are currently 123 countries participating in the treaty. The court is based in The Hague, but it has branches in countries where it is conducting investigations.

Russia signed the Rome Statute, which it helped develop, on September 13, 2000, but did not ratify it. On November 16, 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an executive order that said the country would not become a party to the ICC. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, "the ICC has failed to live up to expectations and has not become a truly independent body of international justice."