Speech in The Hague: Zelenskyj calls for a tribunal against Russia

Status: 05/04/2023 5:28 p.m

During his surprise visit to the Netherlands, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy called for Russia to be prosecuted. He cited the Nuremberg trials as a model for a tribunal.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for a tribunal against Russia over the war of aggression against his country. Without justice, no peace is possible, Zelenskyj said in his speech in The Hague, Netherlands. Russia must be held accountable for its “crime of aggression”. “There must be jurisdiction for this crime. It can only be enforced by a court like this.”

In view of the Russian invasion, Zelenskyj called for a “large-scale” legal review. He cited the Nuremberg trials against the German National Socialists after the Second World War as a model for a tribunal. “A lasting peace is only possible if we hold the aggressors accountable,” said the Ukrainian president.

He also referred to Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Of course we would all have preferred to see a different Vladimir here in The Hague today,” said Zelenskyj, whose first name is the Ukrainian form of Putin’s first name, at the beginning of his speech.

The Federal Foreign Minister is proposing a new legal format that could be used to indict Russia.
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Since March international Arrest warrant against Putin

The definition of a “crime of aggression” was established in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 2010 and also includes wars of aggression. The ICC had already launched investigations shortly after the Russian invasion and issued an international arrest warrant against Putin for alleged war crimes in March 2023. However, the court cannot independently investigate allegations of aggression because Russia has not ratified the Rome Statute.

In his speech, Selenskyj praised the use of the International Criminal Court based in The Hague. He was convinced that Putin would actually be brought before the court.

The process is currently ruled out

The ICC said in March that Putin was “allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of (children) and illegal movement of (children) from the occupied territories of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.”

However, the prospect of Putin being tried in The Hague is slim. The Russian President would have to be extradited. The court has no police force to enforce arrest warrants – and the Russian president is unlikely to travel to any of the 123 ICC member countries that would be required to arrest him.

Russia does not recognize the court in The Hague. Ukraine is also not a state party to the Criminal Court, but Kiev has recognized the court’s authority to deal with crimes against humanity and war crimes committed on Ukrainian territory since 2014. In 2022, Ukrainian laws were amended to allow prosecutors from The Hague to investigate on Ukrainian territory.

The court accuses him of being responsible for kidnapping Ukrainian children.
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Rutte: delivery of fighter jets “no taboo”

During his visit, Zelenskyi also met the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte. After a meeting attended by Belgium’s Prime Minister Alexander de Croo, the Ukrainian President thanked the country for the military aid that had already been provided. At the same time, Selenskyj called for more weapons, military vehicles and fighter jets, for which Ukrainian pilots should now be trained as soon as possible.

Rutte said at a joint press conference that the delivery of F16 fighter jets was “not taboo”. The Netherlands is currently consulting with Denmark and Great Britain on the delivery of fighter jets to Ukraine. According to Rutte, an agreement has not yet been reached, but that is a matter of time. De Croo announced a new military aid package for Ukraine but gave no details.

Joining NATO is also an issue

In the long term, his country wants to join NATO, said Selenskyj – knowing full well that the Netherlands in particular are very skeptical about it. “We are realistic and know that we will not get into NATO during the war, but during the war we would like to have a clear message that we can join NATO after the war,” said the Ukrainian president.

Selenskyj had unexpectedly arrived in the Netherlands the evening before. It is his first official visit to the country. In the morning he was received in Parliament. The Netherlands has so far provided around 1.2 billion euros in military aid to Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s war of aggression.

With information from Ludger Kazmierczak, WDR, currently The Hague

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