European Parliament calls for tribunal against Russia, Belarus leaders

January 19, BPN. The European Parliament has adopted a resolution calling for an international tribunal to be set up to hold the Russian leadership and its allies accountable for the aggression against Ukraine.

“While noting that the exact modalities and composition of the special tribunal remain to be determined, MEPs stress that it must have jurisdiction to investigate not only Vladimir Putin and the political and military leadership of Russia, but also Alaksandr Łukašenka and his cronies in Belarus,” the European Parliament’s press office said.

MEPs said the tribunal would fill the void in international justice, complementing the efforts of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which couldn’t investigate the particular crime of aggression against Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the resolution, tweeting: “I call on all our partners to support such a tribunal. Russia must be held accountable for its war of aggression and justice must prevail.”

Russia has repeatedly struck Ukraine from Belarusian territory, where it has a growing military presence. It used Belarus as a launchpad for its February 2022 offensive on Kyiv. At the same time, Belarus says its troops are not directly involved in hostilities in Ukraine.