AKP Phnom Penh, March 19, 2023 –Nuclear war is now almost a reality, noted Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant of arrest for Russian President Vladimir Putin recently.
“The world must be wary of nuclear war after the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Mr. Vladimir Putin, which Moscow has denied as an ‘absolutely unacceptable’ charge,” wrote the Cambodian Premier in an article released on his social media network this morning. “The ICC accusations against President Putin are a shocking political development, having far-reaching implications for geopolitics in Europe and the world, and not just war crimes.”
The arrest warrant will also complicate the peace-seeking process in the Ukraine war, especially before the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Moscow, where he is expected to mediate for peace, he said, adding that China itself has also been accused of genocide in Xinjiang. “How can Putin negotiate peace when the other side threatens to arrest him?” he asked.
The ICC has currently 123 members, while major countries such as the U.S., Russia, India and China are not. President Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the ICC in 2019. The ICC has no authority to arrest any suspects without the cooperation of the respective governments. But this ICC’s arrest warrant will further divide the world as the world works together to address common global issues such as climate change and infectious diseases. “The ICC’s arrest warrant could spark a nuclear war,” he underlined.
Samdech Techo Hun Sen continued that he has never believed that nuclear war would take place despite the threat of nuclear weapons and he also encouraged all parties to be cautious about the use of nuclear weapons and to reduce talk about the use of nuclear weapons. But now there is a backlash from the other side in the form of an arrest warrant for President Putin, the only person with the right to order the fire of a nuclear weapon and the leader of a nuclear power with thousands of nuclear warheads.
“Did Putin agree to be arrested without confrontation? If Putin is arrested abroad, would the country’s authorities accept that their president is arrested? This is the point at which nuclear war is now almost a reality. Any threat to Putin is clear that a nuclear war will erupt and begin in Europe, and those at risk may be even the ICC headquarters, because the nuclear operation is not just 20-30 kilometres, but up to thousands of kilometres,” the Cambodian Prime Minister said.
On Mar. 17, 2023, Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court issued warrants of arrest for two individuals in the context of the situation in Ukraine: Mr. Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, President of the Russian Federation, and Ms. Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation. They are allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation, according to ICC.
Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse
