WASHINGTON, Sept 25: US President George W. Bush vowed on Wednesday to seek deals granting US troops immunity from prosecution from the International Criminal Court (ICC) from “all countries.”

“I strongly reject the ICC. I’m not going to accept an ICC. I’m not going to put ourselves in a position where our soldiers and diplomats get hauled into a court” over which Washington has little sway, Bush told reporters.

Bush’s comments came as he met in the Oval Office with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, whose government has reportedly sent the United States a letter indicating that such a bilateral immunity accord was unnecessary.

Asked whether he still sought such a deal, known as an “Article 98,” with Bogota, Bush replied: “We want an Article 98 with all countries, absolutely.”

Conjuring up the specter of politically motivated prosecution of US personnel, Bush said: “Our friends shouldn’t want us to be put in that position, therefore we’re seeking Article 98s from our friends.”

On Tuesday, Micronesia became the 12th country to give Washington an agreement exempting US forces from prosecution before the ICC, pledging also not to extradite US soldiers sought by the court, based in The Hague.

Washington fears the court may be used as a tool to unfairly prosecute US servicemen and women for political reasons and has warned that it may withdraw military aid to large numbers of countries which refuse to sign Article 98 deals.

US diplomats around the world have been racing to negotiate the agreements since July 1 against growing opposition to the pacts, particularly in Europe, where there is strong support for the court.

Last week, the United States concluded such deals with five countries — Afghanistan, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Mauritania and Uzbekistan, the State Department said in announcing the Micronesia signing.

The other countries to have signed Article 98 agreements with the United States since the court came into being on July 1 are East Timor, Israel, the Marshall Islands, Palau, Romania and Tajikistan.

Only four of the 10 countries — Honduras, Tajikistan, Romania and the Marshall Islands — have signed and ratified the Treaty of Rome that created the ICC, the world’s first permanent war crimes tribunal.

Two others, the Dominican Republic and Uzbekistan, have signed the Rome treaty but not yet ratified it.

Neither Afghanistan nor Micronesia have signed the treaty.—AFP