MOSCOW, March 17. /TASS/. Russian Investigative Committee Chairman Alexander Bastrykin has ordered a probe into the illegitimate issuance of arrest warrants for Russian nationals by the International Criminal Court, the Russian agency has said in a statement.

"The chairman of the Russian Investigative Committee has ordered the agency’s central office to organize a procedural assessment in connection with the illegitimate issuance of arrest warrants for Russian nationals by the International Criminal Court," the statement said.

The agency said that as part of the probe, the Russian Investigative Committee will identify specific ICC judges that made these obviously illegitimate decisions.

It was reported earlier on Friday that the ICC issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova.