MOSCOW, September 9 (Itar-Tass) —— The State Duma says the Interpol’s arrest warrant for Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi makes no practical sense and looks political.
The arrest warrant for Gaddafi “is rather a symbol than a practical step,” Chairman of the State Duma International Affairs Committee Konstantin Kosachyov said. “The meaning of this new arrest warrant is not quite clear, because the International Criminal Court in the Hague has done that before. In my opinion, the first warrant was more than sufficient,” he told Itar-Tass.
Gaddafi does not plan to surrender, “he may find his safe harbor in a country, which does not cooperate with the International Criminal Court and the Interpol, so this warrant changes nothing,” Kosachyov said.
The arrest warrants for Gaddafi issued by the Interpol and the International Criminal Court “are politicized decisions, which exceed the UN mandate,” First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma International Affairs Committee Leonid Slutsky said. “In fact, the international community is given an injection of unipolarity, in which the position of one state is mirrored by international organizations and courts. We have seen that in the cases of Iraq, Kosovo and Afghanistan. We are witnessing the same in the Libyan case,” he said.
The Interpol sent the warrant to 188 member countries and said that Gaddafi was a criminal and the Interpol and Libya wanted his arrest and trial. The warrant may significantly complicate Gaddafi travels across international borders.