In The Hague, 44 countries have supported the creation of a special tribunal for Russia for crimes against Ukraine. Georgia and Moldova are among those who supported it, according to a statement of the Dutch government published on its website.
The conference “Restoring Justice for Ukraine”, which was attended by 57 countries, was held in The Hague on April 2. The signed final declaration, in particular, supports the idea of creating a special tribunal on Russia’s crimes and aggression against Ukraine, as well as the initiative to use frozen Russian assets in Kyiv’s favor.
The document, in addition to Georgia and Moldova, was signed by: Albania, Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States.
“The start of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine has led to the deaths of tens of thousands of people, and millions of people have been displaced. Everyone here agrees that Russia must be held accountable. Russia must pay for these blatant violations”, Dutch Foreign Minister Hanke Bruins Slot said during the conference.
The declaration condemns the Russian aggression against Ukraine as a blatant violation of international law, also calling on the countries to strengthen joint actions to ensure proper investigation of violations of international law committed during Russia’s war against Ukraine.
In addition, the document notes the role of all institutions involved in the investigation of Russia’s crimes, including the International Criminal Court, which issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin.
Last August, Georgia restricted the export and re-export to Russia of cars made in the United States, and in September, Georgian authorities imposed similar restrictions on cars from Europe. Such measures are related to the 11th package of sanctions against Russia, imposed by the European Union in June 2023 due to the war unleashed by Russia in Ukraine.In November 2023, it became known that Georgia could get the status of a candidate for membership in the European Union if it fulfills 12 recommendations of the European Commission.
Moldova in December last year announced its intention to withdraw from almost all agreements within the CIS, and in March this year, the state authorities said they wanted to rebuild as many bomb shelters as possible because of the possible Russian threat.
On Monday, April 1, Moldova, amid rumors of Vladimir Putin’s plans to annex Transnistria, began international military exercises JCET-2024 (Joint Combined Exchange Training) with the participation of the United States and Romania.
In late March this year, US President Joe Biden urged American voters to support tax hikes for wealthy citizens to help Ukraine counter Russian aggression. At the same time, the head of state called Vladimir Putin a “butcher”.
