(Bloomberg) -- The international arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes committed in Ukraine isn’t binding in Hungary, Cabinet Minister Gergely Gulyas said.

Hungary hasn’t made official a part of the International Criminal Court’s statutes that would make such an arrest warrant binding, Gulyas told reporters on Thursday. He said doing so would violate Hungary’s constitution.  

United Nations records show that Hungary signed the Rome Statute of the ICC in 1999 and ratified it in 2001, during Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s first term as premier.

Orban has been the target of fierce criticism from its European Union and NATO allies for maintaining close ties with Russia, even after Putin invaded Ukraine. This has included speaking out against EU sanctions on Moscow, barring the delivery of weapons to Ukraine and locking Hungary into a long-term gas contract with Russia.

--With assistance from Veronika Gulyas and Marton Kasnyik.

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