Irina Nesterova21:56, 04.02.25

The EU has announced progress in creating a special tribunal for the crime of Russian aggression.

A special tribunal for the crime of Russian aggression against Ukraine could be created as early as 2025. As reported by participants in the 13th meeting of the Core Group for the establishment of the Special Tribunal, which took place in Brussels, significant progress has been made in drafting the founding charter, and the document could be signed as early as spring, DW reports .

According to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression will be created within the Council of Europe, and this could happen as early as 2025.

“The establishment of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression within the Council of Europe will allow our international partners, in particular Ukraine and the European Union, to make full use of our experience and knowledge in the field of human rights and the rule of law across the continent,” he said at a briefing.

EU Foreign Affairs Chief Kaja Kallas called on other countries to join the group setting up the Special Tribunal, which currently includes 41 countries, as well as the European Commission, the European External Action Service and the Council of Europe itself.

Callas also explained how the establishment of the Special Tribunal could impact potential talks that US President Donald Trump plans to hold with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

In her opinion, even if the US President achieves peace talks, work with the tribunal will need to continue “to bring the guilty to justice and for a just peace in Ukraine.”

“We cannot allow the crime of aggression to go unpunished. The special tribunal is also part of the pressure on Putin and his regime to stop this war. It is a signal to other aggressors or those who intend to attack neighboring countries. That is why these signals are important, and who talks to whom, of course, everyone decides for themselves,” the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs said.

Tribunal on the Crime of Aggression of the Russian Federation: What is Known

As UNIAN reported earlier, the future special tribunal for the crime of aggression of the Russian Federation will be located in The Hague. This is stated in the security agreement signed between Ukraine and the Netherlands in the spring of 2024.

According to the representative of Ukraine to the International Court of Justice Anton Korinevich, the special tribunal may begin its work even before the end of the war . According to him, “the crime of aggression is an elite crime, it is a crime of those who can give orders to start and continue waging an aggressive war.” “Accordingly, representatives of the highest political and military leadership of the Russian Federation must be held accountable for the crime of aggression,” Korinevich said.

(c)UNIAN 2025