President of Moldova threatens to execute ICC warrant and arrest Putin if he enters the country

Maia Sandu, the President of Moldova, warned that should Russian leader Vladimir Putin attempt to enter the Republic then she would execute the ICC warrant and have him arrested.

During an interview this Tuesday, May 23, with Euronews Romania, in response to a relevant question, Sandu replied: “Yes. The Republic of Moldova has signed an agreement on a criminal court, and Moldova will respect the decision of the court”.

The Moldovan leader claimed that her country was now “not in danger, because the war started by Russia is abroad”. However, she highlighted: “numerous attempts to destabilise the republic and actions carried out by the Russian Federation on the territory of Moldova”.

In the same interview, Sandu touched on the topic of the unrecognised territory of Transnistria. According to the President: “the Transnistrian region benefits from the free movement regime, like the rest of the country”. Two-thirds of Moldovan exports, she added, go to EU countries.

As recalled by TASS, Putin visited Moldova in November 2008, when he was the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation. He took part in a meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the CIS member countries, which was held in the city of Chisinau.

After becoming President, Putin visited Moldova in October 2002, when the summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States was held there, as reported by gazeta.ru.

Vladimir Dzhabarov, the first deputy head of the Federation Council committee on international affairs offered his view on Sandu’s comment.

He suggested that the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation: “has every reason to initiate a criminal case against Sandu on the fact of the threat to arrest the President of Russia and put her on the international wanted list”.

Posting on his Telegram channel, the senator wrote: “It seems that the citizen of Romania, Ms M. Sandu, who holds the post of President of Moldova, has something in her head. She dreamed that the head of Great Russia would come to her country, the economy and well-being of which are completely dependent on Moscow”.

An arrest warrant was issued for Putin on March 17, by the International Criminal Court (ICC). Maria Lvova-Belova, the Commissioner for Children’s Rights was also named. The pair were charged with the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children.