Kigali: Several European nations have concurrently summoned Kenyan ambassadors to explain why Kenya, which is a signatory to the International Criminal Court, did not arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir when he visited Nairobi last week to attend a ceremony on adoption of new constitution.

The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Bashir over genocide charges and expected Kenya to arrest him last month.

Among the countries which summoned the Kenya diplomats include Germany, UK, Belgium, Netherlands and France. The European Commission also expressed concern with the Kenyan decision to invite the Sudanese leader.

The Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula defended the move arguing that Mr. Bashir was invited because Kenya wants to have good neighbourly relations with all its regional neighbours.

The international court had already complained about Kenya at the United Nations Security Council. Despite international pressures, Kenya had refused to arrest Bashir last month and said the African Union had instructed them in July not to take any actions against Bashir.

Kenya is not the first ICC signatory country that has refused to arrest Bashir. Earlier, the Sudanese president had visited neighboring Chad, which described his visit as an important step in the improvement of bilateral ties between the two nations.

Meanwhile, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) supported Kenya in its decision and said that Nairobi was not wrong in hosting Bashir during a historic event. Kenya also received support from Rwanda, defending the decision as the right of a sovereign state.

Talking to reporters, Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Louise Mushikiwabo said, “As far as my government is concerned, it is Kenya’s sovereign decision to deal with its neighbors the way it deems so. The Inter-governmental Authority on Development has also been involved in talks, including engaging President Bashir.”