War crimes warrant for Putin could complicate peace efforts, observers warn

An international arrest warrant has been issued for Russian President Vladimir Putin (Gavriil Grigorov/Sputnik/Kremlin pool photo/AP)

An international arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin raises the prospect of the man whose country invaded Ukraine facing justice, but it complicates efforts to end that war in peace talks.

Both justice and peace appear to be only remote possibilities today, and the conflicting relationship between the two is a quandary at the heart of a decision on March 17 by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to seek the Russian leader’s arrest.