The outgoing German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock condemned Hungary’s decision to leave the International Criminal Court. Hungary’s President Viktor Orban made the announcement earlier today as he welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Budapest. Premier Netanyahu has been issued an arrest warrant by the ICC for crimes against humanity.
The outgoing German Foreign Minister gave her comments to the press at a NATO meeting in Brussels. She said that “This is a bad day for international criminal law. In Europe, no one is above the law, and that applies to all areas of law.” The German Foreign Minister had previously contradicted the Chancellor’s position, Olaf Scholz, who refused to recognise the international arrest warrant against Premier Netanyahu and his previous Defence Minister. Foreign Minister Baerbock was more inclined to accept and recognise the arrest warrants.
This is the first time that the Israeli Premier is visiting Europe after being served with an ICC arrest warrant. Earlier this week Prime Minister Netanyahu met Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Jerusalem and was the first European leader to meet the Israeli Premier following the issue of his arrest warrants.
In a press conference following their meeting, the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban condemned the ICC as a political court while the Israeli Premier accused it of antisemitism.
Newsroom
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