US independent agency calls on White House to get Russia expelled from Interpol: Reports

Washington [US], March 12 (ANI)

An independent United States government agency, the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, sent a letter to the Biden administration calling for Russia's expulsion from the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) due to the country's invasion of Ukraine, CNN reported on Saturday.

The letter was reportedly sent on Friday and was addressed to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Attorney General Merrick Garland. "We urge you to use the US position in Interpol (and in particular Interpol's Executive Committee and its Advisory Group on Financial Matters) to make it clear that any failure to act against Russia's abuse of Interpol will have grave consequences for the U.S. contribution to Interpol's budget and Interpol's legal immunities in the United States," the letter, directed to Garland and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, read.

Interpol is a global agency that facilitates police across its 195 member countries to collaborate on criminal investigations. Interpol issues what are known as Red Notices to request the location and arrest of an individual pending their extradition.

If Russia is suspended from Interpol, it would bar the country from continuing to participate and therefore put in requests for Red Notices, but it would not remove Red Notices that are already in the system, the report said citing Ted Bromund, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation and an expert in Interpol.

On Thursday, Interpol pledged to change the procedure for accepting requests from Russia amid numerous calls to expel the country from the organization but promised to keep communication channels open, Sputnik News Agency reported.

Moscow will not be able to send requests directly to member states. It will have to do it through the general secretariat to be checked for compliance with Interpol rules, the report added.