The European Union says Tajikistan was obligated under international law to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to the Central Asian country for a regional summit this week.
“Tajikistan is a State Party to the Rome Statute of the ICC (International Criminal Court) and failed to comply with its obligations under the Statute to execute the arrest warrant,” the EU’s diplomatic service said in a statement on Thursday.
“Vladimir Putin is under an arrest warrant by the ICC for international crimes, specifically alleged crimes of unlawful deportation and unlawful transfer of children from temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories in the context of his illegal war of aggression against Ukraine,” the service said.
Russia rejects the authority of the court, which issued the warrant for Putin’s arrest in March 2023.
Tajikistan signed the Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court, in 1998. But it maintains close political, economic, and security ties with Russia. At a joint appearance with Putin in Dushanbe on Thursday, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon noted the “high level of relations between Tajikistan and Russia.”
Putin also met the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan at the Russia-Central Asia summit.
