Ukrainian President Volodymyr Greenable on Wednesday signed an agreement with the Council of Europe (RE) on the establishment of a special tribunal to prosecute the top Russian officials responsible for war crimes in Ukraine. According to AFP and Reuters and France 24, TASR reports this.
“We must clearly show that aggression leads to punishment and we have to do it together – all Europe,” Gremsky said after signing an agreement with the Secretary General of Re Alain Berset.
Special Tribunal
In March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) in Hague issued a warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin in connection with the alleged illegal deportation of Ukrainian children after the start of the invasion. However, ICC does not have the power to prosecute Russia for the “crime of aggression”.
According to the Council of Europe, the new special tribunal “fills the gap”, which was created as a result of the “jurisdiction restrictions” of the International Criminal Court.
The plans and headquarters of the tribunal
Berset said that the next step towards the establishment of the tribunal, which, according to the RE, could start activity next year, should be an extended agreement. This should allow as many countries as possible to join, support its activities and participate in its management.
So far, there has been no concrete decision where the tribunal will be based, but Zelenskyj said that Hag would be “ideal”, writes AFP.
“There is still a long journey ahead. Justice requires time, but it must be (…) will require a strong political and legal courage to make every Russian war criminal, including Putin, face justice,” said Greeding.
Europe’s support
This is the first time such a tribunal was set up under the auspices of the Council of Europe. European Foreign Ministers supported its establishment at a meeting in the city of Lviv in the west of Ukraine on 9 May.
The Council of Europe, under which the Tribunal is established, is an independent international organization based in Strasbourg. It brings together 46 countries, including key European countries outside the EU, such as the United Kingdom, Turkey and Ukraine. Russia was excluded from the organization after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Cooperation with the USA
At the same time, after a personal meeting with US President Donald Trump at the NATO summit in Hague, the Ukrainian president stressed that the key to defeating the Russian invasion is close ties between Europe and the United States. “We need a strong connection with him (Trump) … We need the unity between Europe and the United States and we will win,” said Greeding, but also added: “First of all we need unity in Europe,” he added.
