• Dmitry Medvedev warned that if  Putin is detained then it would be a declaration of war.
• He also reaffirmed that the ICC’s ruling would be bad for Moscow’s relations with the West.
• Does he even realize that it would be a casus belli, a declaration of war?, said Medvedev.

Russian Vice-Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev warned Thursday that if Russian President Vladimir Putin is detained abroad as a result of the ICC warrant, it would be “a declaration of war against Russia.”

“Clearly, such a situation is never going to happen but still, let’s imagine that it has happened. The incumbent head of a nuclear country arrives in, say, Germany, and is arrested. What does it mean? A declaration of war against Russia,” Medvedev said, responding to a media question. “In such a case, all our weapons will target the Bundestag, the [German] chancellor’s office and so on.”

Responding to German Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann’s remark that Berlin would have to implement the ICC decision and arrest the Russian president if he arrived in Germany, Medvedev said: “Does he even realize that it would be a casus belli, a declaration of war? ”

Additionally, Medvedev reaffirmed that the ICC’s ruling would be bad for Moscow’s relations with the West.

“Our relations with the Western world are already poor; they are perhaps at their worst ever. Even when Churchill delivered his Iron Curtain speech, our relationship was better. And all of a sudden, they make such a move against our head of state,” Medvedev said, according to media.

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