Russia Says It Won't Interfere in US Presidential Election

The Kremlin on Wednesday said Russia will not interfere in the U.S. presidential election, although claiming the United States was fighting against Russia in Ukraine.

Also Wednesday, Russia said it does not want to fight against Germany.

In Vladimir Putin's own election, the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said Wednesday the scale of public support for him since his death was proof his cause lived on, and called for a massive election day protest against Putin.

In a YouTube video, Yulia Navalnaya said she had drawn hope from the huge crowds that turned out last week for the funeral of her husband, who died in an Arctic penal colony on Feb. 16. Since his burial, supporters have submerged his grave in a sea of flowers.

"Looking at you, I am convinced that everything is not in vain, and this thought gives me strength," she said.

"Now you all know that there are actually a lot of us, all those who love and support Alexei, who share his ideas and, as long as we have each other, it's not over."

Navalny, in one of his last public messages, had urged people to protest against Putin by voting en masse at noon local time in the March 17 presidential election, forming large crowds and overwhelming polling stations.

Navalnaya took up her husband's call.

"This is a very simple and safe action, it cannot be prohibited, and it will help millions of people see like-minded people and realize that we are not alone," she said. "We are surrounded by people who are also against war, against corruption and against lawlessness."

The stakes are high for both the opposition and the Kremlin.

If the "Noon Against Putin" action fizzles, it will be a blow to Navalnaya's hopes of taking on her husband's mantle, even though she is based outside Russia, and showing that opposition to the Kremlin is still alive.

Russia Won't Recognize ICC Arrest Warrants

Russia does not recognize arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for two Russian commanders suspected of war crimes in Ukraine, the Kremlin said  Wednesday.

The ICC said Tuesday it had issued arrest warrants for top Russian commanders Sergei Kobylash and Viktor Sokolov for missile strikes against Ukrainian electricity infrastructure.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that as Russia was not a party to the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, Moscow did not recognize the warrants.

"We are not parties to the statute - we do not recognize this," Peskov told reporters when asked about the ICC warrants.

"This is not the first decision. We also know that there are various closed processes going on there, which are kept secret, and we treat such decisions accordingly."

In March last year, the ICC issued warrants for the arrest of President Vladimir Putin and Russian Children's Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova on war crimes charges related to the abduction of Ukrainian children.

The Kremlin dismissed those warrants as outrageous at the time. Russia denies war crimes in Ukraine and has dismissed previous ICC arrest warrants as part of a biased Western campaign to discredit Russia.

Russian officials say such warrants have little real world impact and note that no senior U.S. officials have been brought to justice for alleged war crimes in the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan.