Ukraine against the idea of a “hybrid” tribunal for Putin – Zelensky
The President of the State stressed that Ukraine has its own vision of creating a tribunal for the Russian dictator.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky says that Ukraine supports its vision of establishing a special tribunal to punish the war crimes committed against our country by Russian President Vladimir Putin and his entourage, rather than a “hybrid tribunal” format.
According to an UNIAN correspondent, Zelensky said this at a press conference following the results of the Buchansky summit on justice and responsibility for Russian aggression, which was attended by 47 states and organizations.
“First of all, we are working to ensure that there is a tribunal. I am sure that there will be. Because justice and responsibility are the number two priority after the victory, which is the number one priority,” Zelensky said.
The President noted that the tribunal will fully work after the end of the war.
“As for the stages, how can we get there – we need, first of all, political, international support. We are working on this. Namely, the text of the relevant resolution for the United Nations platform,” the head of state added.
He said that different countries are looking for a variety of compromises, including considering a “hybrid format” of the tribunal, which is supported by several international friendly partners of Ukraine.
“However, we still see our version and are working on it. We understand that the main thing for us is to recruit a large number of states so that a large number of states can be united. And jointly already support this or that format of the corresponding resolution. This will be step number one. Then Let’s move on to practical steps on the tribunal,” Zelensky stressed.
He said that the relevant work is underway at the level of state leaders, the Foreign Ministry and at the level of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine. In particular, there is cooperation with the International Criminal Court.
Zelensky believes that the issuance of an arrest warrant for Putin by the International Criminal Court on suspicion of committing war crimes is a factor that will affect the integrity and maximum rigidity of the wording of the resolution, the text of which is being prepared.
“I think this will be the main push,” Zelensky said.
Earlier on Radio Liberty’s “Liberty LIVE” program, US State Department spokeswoman Andrea Kalan said that the United States still supports a “hybrid tribunal” because “it will be just an international, internationalized tribunal, but based on the legal system of Ukraine.” Kalan noted that this tribunal will not be located in Ukraine, but in another European country.
Creation of a Special Tribunal for Putin – what is known
As UNIAN reported earlier, on January 19, the European Parliament voted in favor of a resolution establishing a tribunal for Russia’s top leadership, in particular for Vladimir Putin, for crimes and aggression against Ukrainians.
On January 26, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe supported a resolution calling for the creation of a special tribunal to hold the top political and military leadership of Russia and Belarus accountable for committing the crime of aggression against Ukraine. The venue for the tribunal is The Hague.
On March 17, the second pre-trial chamber of the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova. They are suspected of illegal forced transfer of Ukrainian children.
This decision means that they can be arrested on the territory of all countries that have ratified the Rome Statute.