France is the first major Western country to publicly support the establishment of a special tribunal for war crimes committed by Russian officials against Ukrainian citizens.
The French Foreign Ministry announced today that the Paris government is in talks with other countries on the old continent to put Russian officials and possibly President Vladimir Putin in the dock for war crimes against the Ukrainian people.
The statement comes hours after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen advocated the establishment of a similar court in a speech on the "27" plans for Ukraine.
The defendants in such a tribunal would be those with decision-making power involved in the commission of criminal attacks and even the violation of Ukraine's borders by the Russian military.
This would likely mean that Russian officials who in number do not exceed the fingers of two hands, including Putin, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as well as Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, could sit in the dock.
If convicted, even in absentia, the sentencing of the Russian officials would put a "gravestone" on the already existing relations between Brussels and Moscow by labelling Putin and his team as international criminals which would make talks at the negotiating table almost impossible, comments the British newspaper "Guardian".
France's announcement today is a strong indication that the West is frustrated with the progress of negotiations with the Kremlin. The EU wants a special court to be set up as Russia has not signed the International Criminal Court (ICC) treaty, leaving the Hague court without jurisdiction over "criminal attacks" committed by the Russian government.
The ICC can rule on specific war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine, even though Putin and his top ministers have immunity while in power.
Recall that, Ukraine launched a campaign to create a special court in April, but faced denial from its Western allies. For months, the Kiev government only had the support of Eastern European states such as Poland and the Baltic states.
In an interview in September, Andriy Smirnov, who is leading the creation of a special court on behalf of Ukraine's presidential office, stressed that the West's reluctance shows that it still wants to leave the door open for negotiations with Russia.
Yesterday, Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said the establishment of any tribunal would require UN support. She also suggested the establishment of an independent international court or a special court within a national judicial system.
Either way, Ukraine has stressed that the number of states supporting the establishment of such a court is "key" to the imposition of any sentence.
Source: Proto Thema
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