Russia quits International Criminal Court

"Russia says it will withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) under a directive signed by President Vladimir Putin.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said the ICC had 'failed to meet the expectations to become a truly independent, authoritative international tribunal,' in a statement released Wednesday.

It described the ICC as 'ineffective,' adding that 'during the 14 years of the court's work it passed only four sentences having spent over a billion dollars.'

Russia also criticized the court's handling of the country's five-day conflict with neighboring Georgia in 2008, saying 'we can hardly trust the ICC in such a situation.'...

The announcement comes days after the ICC published a damning verdict on Russia's actions in neighboring Crimea.

The ICC said in a report released Monday that 'the situation within the territory of Crimea and Sevastopol factually amounts to an ongoing state of occupation.'...

President Putin's directive also follows suggestions from French President Francois Hollande last month that Moscow was guilty of war crimes in Syria..."