Tribunal for Putin, Lavrov and more: Foreign minister explains how it will work
Photo: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Ukraine has completed an important stage in the establishment of a special tribunal for the crime of aggression committed by Russia. Work on this initiative has been ongoing for more than two and a half years, and it is now entering its final phase, states Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha during a speech in Lviv.
"The most important thing for us is to uphold the principle of the inevitability of punishment, for everyone. Including the so-called trinity. I mean the president of the Russian Federation, the Russian prime minister, and the foreign minister of Russia. All of them are international war criminals," Sybiha stated.
He reminded that the creation of this tribunal is aimed at delivering appropriate verdicts in the future. The tribunal will be located in The Hague, the international law and accountability capital.
"We are now actively beginning work with the Council of Europe. Here, I would like to emphasize the role of the Council of Europe — it is the central institution, the cornerstone of this process. That is why today we are adopting a political document, the Lviv Declaration, and providing political backing and a launch at the level of EU foreign ministers," Sybiha said.
According to him, formal and procedural approvals of this process will take place in Luxembourg under the chairmanship of the host country.
"I am grateful to Xavier Bettel for his personal engagement and for accelerating these processes, as well as to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe. The next step, following the formal-procedural approval in Luxembourg, will be the signing of an agreement between the Council of Europe and Ukraine," Sybiha noted.
He clarified that the signing of this agreement will mark the final step in establishing the legal infrastructure needed to hold Russian perpetrators accountable for the crime of aggression.
Special tribunal for Russia
The International Criminal Court has already issued six arrest warrants for members of Russia’s military-political leadership. However, the court in The Hague lacks jurisdiction to try Russian officials, since Russia has not ratified the Rome Statute.
In this context, Ukraine initiated the creation of a special tribunal for the crime of aggression by the Russian Federation. Dozens of countries have joined the effort — earlier reports noted that 44 states have already signed on to the coalition.
Today in Lviv, a meeting of the coalition of states for establishing a special tribunal for Russia is taking place. European ministers and the EU leadership have given political approval to launch the tribunal.
According to Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister, Xavier Bettel, the special tribunal for the crime of aggression committed by Russia against Ukraine will be launched next week.
