EU states must comply with ICC arrest warrant against Israel's Netanyahu: EU foreign policy chief

EU member states should fulfil their obligations on international law by complying with the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant against Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu, the EU foreign policy chief said on Tuesday.

Drawing attention to the fact that all EU members are parties to the Rome Convention, which founded the International Criminal Court (ICC), Josep Borrell said: "You cannot pick and choose. You cannot uphold when the court goes against Putin and remain silent when the court goes against Netanyahu."

Speaking to the press on the sideline of the G7 Foreign Ministers' meeting in Italy, he said such double standards are aptly leading to severe criticism of the EU.

"I ask the member states of the EU to fulfil their obligation on the international law. Like it or not, ICC is a court as powerful as any national court," he added.

Borrell warned: "If Europe doesn't support the ICC, there will be no hope for justice."

On Lebanon, he warned that the country would fall apart if the current cease-fire proposal by the US and France is not implemented.

The ongoing Israeli attacks led not only to displacement and killings of a large number of Lebanese people, but also severely damaged the Lebanese state institutions, including the army, Borrell said.

Recalling the objections to the proposal by extremist ministers in the Israeli government, he urged Netanyahu to work for approving and implementing the cease-fire deal.