U.S. Seeks Special Tribunal To Prosecute Russian Crimes Of Aggression In Ukraine

The United States supports the creation of a special tribunal to prosecute the crime of aggression that Russia committed against Ukraine, the State Department said on Tuesday, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

"We envision such a court having significant international support, particularly from our European partners, and ideally located in another country in Europe," Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told a daily press briefing in response to TURAN's questions.

"We believe that the special tribunal should be rooted in Ukraine’s domestic judicial system as this will provide the clearest path to establishing a new tribunal and maximize our chances of achieving meaningful accountability," Patel added.

Ukraine, the EU and the Netherlands have already publicly backed the idea of a special tribunal, a significant development in the push to hold top Kremlin officials accountable for the war in Ukraine.

According to Patel, a tribunal of this type "would enable the prosecution of crimes of aggression, and it would complement the work that will be undertaken by the International Center for the Prosecution of Crimes of Aggression by ensuring that the information and evidence collected by the center can be effectively put towards accountability purposes."

The U.S. supports all international efforts to examine atrocities in Ukraine, including the investigation by the ICC and the reporting by the UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, Patel said. "Obviously, the key aspect here is the piece about aggression, which is what would set this special tribunal apart."

Asked by TURAN whether the Biden administration would support the idea of trying Putin before the special tribunal, Patel replied:  "The important thing to remember here... is that It is clear that what Ukraine and other champions of accountability want is a – fair and effective prosecution.  And we believe that an internationalized court with broad internationalized support is the most likely and most effective pathway to achieving that shared goal. But I’m not going to speculate or get into hypotheticals about potential actions that it might take."

Although there are a number of international bodies like the ICC which can prosecute war crimes and crimes against humanity, they do not have the ability to prosecute the crime of aggression.

Alex Raufoglu