War crimes tribunal to limit geography of Putin’s trips abroad, says President’s Office
War crimes tribunal to limit geography of Putin’s trips abroad (Photo:REUTERS / Maxim Shemetov)
The prompt creation of a tribunal for Russian crimes of aggression will influence the course of the war and limit the geography of international trips for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, deputy head of the President’s Office, Andriy Smirnov, said at the United for Justice international conference in Lviv on March 4.
“We really hope that the world will be able to get united around the idea of irreversibility of punishment for crimes,” he said. “Today we discuss how a tribunal can be created and how it should work. There are models that give us great optimism that we will be able to quickly prove the guilt of individuals in committing crimes of aggression.”
He cautioned, however, that there are models that “contain great risks that the legal assessment of such crimes may actually turn into an interstate conflict between two countries.”
“This cannot be allowed,” said Smirnov.
He highlighted that the crime of aggression has no statute of limitations, but it must be punished as quickly as possible.
“I am convinced that if we can quickly establish and make such an international mechanism work, it will undoubtedly influence the course of this aggressive war,” he said.
Meanwhile, he noted that he was unconvinced of the possibility of ensuring Putin’s physical presence at the tribunal.
“But if we manage to use such mechanisms and tools to narrow down the geography of his international movement to a few countries, if he dies being designated as an internationally recognized criminal, this tribunal makes sense then,” concluded Smirnov.
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