Putin declares Russia will not enter ICC

The International Criminal Court has failed to live up to the expectations of the international community, Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday, describing the tribunal's work as "one-sided and inefficient."

"It is revealing that in its 14 years of work the ICC has pronounced just four verdicts and spent over $1 billion," the ministry added.

The move to opt out of the ICC comes two days after the court, established to prosecute war crimes, stated that it considers Russia's annexation of Crimea to be an equivalent to an international armed conflict. The situation at the peninsula effectively amounted to an occupation, according to the tribunal. Earlier this year, the court said it approved a probe into any crimes during the  short war between Russia and Georgia in 2008.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the decision to withdraw Russia's signature had been taken "in the national interest." He also decried the court's position on Crimea at a press conference on Wednesday.

"This formulation contradicts reality, absolutely and unconditionally. It also contradicts our position, and most importantly it contradicts the position that the citizens of the Crimea have expressed by voting to enter the Russian Federation in the referendum," he said.

At the same time, Peskov told journalists that the decision to withdraw Russian backing of the court was not linked with this issue.

"You know, Russia was never de jure under this court's jurisdiction. This is just a move to formalize it, because the accord was signed but never ratified," he said.

End of 'times of illusion'

In a presidential decree earlier on Wednesday, the Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin declared that Russia "intended to not become a participant" of the court, adding that he ordered Russia's Foreign Ministry to formally inform the UN Secretary-General of the position.

The decree is effective immediately.

According to Russian lawmaker Mikhail Emelanov, the Hague-based court has discredited itself in the eyes of the world and the decision to opt out would have no major legal impact in Russia.

"This is more of a political step, as the ICC has long shown itself to be a politically engaged institution, and the interests of political expediency have often prevailed over an objective political approach." said Emelanov, who serves as deputy chairman of the parliamentary committee for judicial and state issues.

"We are freeing ourselves from the obligations that are limiting our sovereignty and unbeneficial for Russia, the obligations imposed in the times of illusion, in the early 1990's," he added.

Russia signed the ICC's founding statute in 2000 but never ratified the agreement to join the institution. The US also signed the accord to create the court but did not enter it.

Several African countries are in the process of leaving the court, accusing it of being biased against Africans and protecting Western interests.

dj/sms (AP, AFP, dpa, Interfax)