The US has not agreed to offer info to ICC out of concern that the court docket might sooner or later scrutinise US officers.

A bipartisan group of United States Senators have requested President Joe Biden to share info with the Worldwide Legal Court docket (ICC), because it pursues costs of battle crimes in opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin over the “illegal deportation” of kids from Ukraine.

On Friday, six Democratic and Republican Senators despatched a letter to Biden urging him to help the ICC, which issued a warrant for Putin’s arrest final week, greater than a 12 months after Russia invaded Ukraine.

“Regardless of the pressing want to carry the perpetrators of atrocities accountable, as evidenced by the ICC’s arrest warrant for Putin, current reporting means that your administration has not but used this new authority to offer much-needed help to the ICC’s efforts,” the letter reads.

Biden has beforehand acknowledged that Russia is committing battle crimes and crimes in opposition to humanity in Ukraine, and the letter calls on his administration to contribute to efforts to carry Putin accountable.

Nevertheless, the USA itself will not be a celebration to the ICC and has persistently denied that the physique has authority to research allegations of battle crimes dedicated by US forces.

That has put the US in a clumsy place, because it requires accountability for Russian officers whereas shielding its personal actions and these of its allies from comparable scrutiny.

Earlier this month, information retailers reported that the US Division of Protection wouldn’t share details about Russian atrocities with the ICC, out of concern it might create a precedent that would finally be utilized to US officers accused of battle crimes.

The US Congress handed laws in December easing restrictions on US cooperation with the ICC, however the New York Occasions reported that debates have continued throughout the Biden administration over the difficulty.

Friday’s letter — signed by Democrats Dick Durbin, Bob Menendez, Richard Blumenthal and Sheldon Whitehouse in addition to Republicans Lindsey Graham and Thom Tillis — mentioned the administration had “bipartisan help for delivering” on its “promise” to carry Putin accountable.