Putin’s Eurotrip Options Slashed With Another Vow to Arrest Him

Austria will arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin if he visits the country, pursuant to the arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karolina Edtstadler, Austria’s Minister for the European Union and Constitutional Affairs said this week.

“Austria will comply with its obligations under international law and criminal law,” Edtstadler said in an interview with Tagesspiegel. “If he sets foot on Austrian soil, an arrest must be made.”

Austria is a party to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC. The ICC issued the arrest warrant last month over alleged war crimes in Ukraine as Putin has been accused of illegally kidnapping Ukrainian children. The court doesn’t have power to enforce its warrants, so any next steps will only come from other countries being willing to arrest Putin.

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