State media reported that the government was pulling out of the 2002 Rome Statute, which establishes the International Criminal Court's status and powers, although the Kremlin never ratified the agreement it signed in 2000. He argued South Africa had been treated unfairly by the court when it did not arrest visiting Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, even though the ICC has issued an international warrant for his arrest on war crimes charges.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signs a symbolic order to withdraw Russia's signature from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) amid calls by pro-rebel western Non-governmental organisations for an investigation into alleged Russian war crimes in Syria.