ISTANBUL

Russia on Wednesday claimed that the US has always used the International Criminal Court (ICC) as a “hand tool” to achieve its goals.

“When investigations were carried out against countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia that Washington disliked, the US supported these decisions, moreover, often initiated them themselves,” Vyacheslav Volodin, the head of the Russian State Duma, said on Telegram.

Recalling that the ICC is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant as well as three Hamas leaders, Volodin said the US “rushed in” to defend the Israeli officials.

Volodin said that this action is not surprising as this is the first time that the leader of Washington’s closest ally has been prosecuted by the ICC.

“It is unacceptable for the US leadership when such pocket structures as the ICC, as well as PACE (Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe), the European Parliament and others, try to make decisions against the will of the hegemon,” Volodin further said.

He also said that Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly spoken about these issues, and that the US promotes a world order “not based on international law, but a ‘rules-based order’ that no one has seen or agreed with.”

“At the same time, the rules change depending on the current political situation and the interests of those who come up with them. This state of affairs is unacceptable,” he went on to say.

He added that only strengthening a multipolar and fair world order will make it possible to get rid of the “political fraud” of the US and solve many global problems.

On Monday, Karim Khan, the ICC's prosecutor, applied for arrest warrants against Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three leaders of the Palestinian group Hamas for “war crimes and crimes against humanity” committed in Israel and the Gaza Strip.

On the same day, Speaker of the US House of Representatives Mike Johnson said on X: "In the absence of leadership from the White House, Congress is reviewing all options, including sanctions, to punish the ICC and ensure its leadership faces consequences if they proceed. If the ICC is allowed to threaten Israeli leaders, ours could be next."