The European Union is seeking to set up a specialised court, backed by the United Nations, to investigate and prosecute possible war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday.
Ursula von der LeyenEPA/GEORGI LICOVSKI
„We are ready to start working with the international community to get the broadest international support possible for this specialised court,” von der Leyen said, as quoted by the Reuters news agency.
„While continuing to support the International Criminal Court, we are proposing to set up a specialised court, backed by the United Nations, to investigate and prosecute Russia’s crime of aggression,” she added.
The Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) opened an investigation into suspected war crimes in Ukraine days after Russia invaded the country on February 24.
Von der Leyen said in a tweet: „Russia must pay for its horrific crimes. We will work with the ICC and help set up a specialised court to try Russia’s crimes. With our partners, we will make sure that Russia pays for the devastation it caused, with the frozen funds of oligarchs and assets of its central bank.”
The foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania last month called for the establishment of a special international tribunal to investigate Russia’s „crime of aggression” against Ukraine.
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Source: IAR, PAP, Reuters