US Attorney General makes unexpected visit to The Hague court offices

US Attorney General Merrick Garland paid a surprise visit to the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday and met with the chief prosecutor, in a sign of the shift in stance towards the permanent war crimes tribunal.

The United States is not a member of the international tribunal, like major powers such as China and Russia, and has imposed sanctions against top ICC officials during the administration of former President Donald Trump.

But during the Joe Biden presidency those sanctions were lifted and Washington supported the work of the ICC in the investigation of war crimes in Ukraine since Russia invaded the country in February 2022.

The ICC reported on Twitter that Garland had met with Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan, but did not provide details about the interview. The visit had not been announced in advance and no information was provided to the media.

Garland’s meeting with senior court officials is evidence of improving relations between Washington and the court, which in March issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin after charging him with the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine.

Biden has said the ICC warrant was justified, while Moscow has repeatedly denied accusations that its forces committed atrocities and the Kremlin has dismissed the court’s decision to issue an arrest warrant for Putin as “null and void.”

Not everyone in the current US administration has embraced the approach to the ICC.

Lawmakers last month said the State and Justice departments were cooperating with the court, but accused the Pentagon of undermining investigations to bring Russian officials to justice by blocking the sharing of US military intelligence.

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