Russian, Belarusian leaders must face tribunal for aggression – PACE

January 26, BPN. Russian and Belarusian leaders should stand trial before an international tribunal for aggression against Ukraine, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has said.

“Belarus has participated in the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine, as it has allowed its territory to be used by the Russian Federation for perpetrating acts of aggression against Ukraine. Its role and complicity should be condemned by the international community and its leaders should be held to account,” it said in a resolution on January 26.

The assembly said there was no international court capable of prosecuting and punishing aggression against Ukraine, but if certain agreements are reached, a special tribunal could become such an instrument. It called on member states to dedicate human and financial resources to the tribunal.

On January 19, the European Parliament adopted its own resolution calling for an international tribunal to be set up to hold the Russian leadership and its allies accountable for the aggression. The Belarusian House of Representatives’ foreign affairs committee dismissed it as propaganda.