MOSCOW, May 23. /TASS/. Russia calls on the Israeli leadership to stop the bloodshed in the Gaza Strip and return to negotiations on the settlement of the conflict, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing.

"We once again call on the Israeli leadership to stop the bloodshed in the Gaza Strip, to resume negotiations on the peaceful settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in accordance with the resolutions of the Security Council, the UN General Assembly, which provide for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, and to fulfill its obligations under international humanitarian law," the diplomat said.

When asked to assess the consequences of the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Zakharova recalled that Russia's principled stance on this "so-called criminal court" remains unchanged.

"We have a negative attitude towards this structure itself, and we speak about it honestly and openly, and this attitude of ours is not related to any conjunctural position towards Russia," she pointed out. "This is our principled position, because we have understood the principles on which this structure operates and who influences it," the spokeswoman said. She also called "erroneous" and "not in line with any norms" the fact that ICC prosecutors consider themselves entitled to "do justice to citizens of all countries, including those states that have not ratified the Rome Statute." "This thesis has no legal basis," the diplomat emphasized.

On May 20, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said he had appealed to the Pre-Trial Chamber to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant. The document said that based on the evidence gathered, the prosecution has reasonable grounds to believe that both "bear criminal responsibility for the <…> war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on the territory of the State of Palestine (in the Gaza Strip) from at least October 8, 2023." The ICC prosecutor also demanded to issue arrest warrants for three Hamas leaders.