USA refuses to recognize Russia as aggressor
The United States has made it clear that it may abandon international efforts to prosecute Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, the British newspaper The Telegraph reported on Friday, citing its own sources.
"US envoys refused to label Russia as an 'aggressor' at a meeting of a 'core group' of countries preparing a Nuremberg-style tribunal to try Vladimir Putin for war crimes, according to Western officials. Washington is similarly refusing to co-sponsor a United Nations statement that supports Ukraine's territorial integrity and demands Moscow to withdraw its forces from the war-torn nation. Mr Trump's administration has also refused to sign off a planned G7 statement calling Russia the 'aggressor' in the war with Ukraine to mark the third anniversary of the conflict on Monday," the article reads.
According to the publication, European officials fear that Trump's actions could lead to Putin being absolved of responsibility for his invasion as part of any peace settlement.
"This stance has put preparations for the final meeting of the 'core group' next month in doubt. The group is leading a 40-nation coalition to form a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, modelled on the response to Nazi war crimes after the Second World War. It would involve the US and other countries joining Ukraine to grant jurisdiction to a dedicated criminal tribunal to investigate both the perpetrators of the crime of aggression and those complicit in that crime," the article states.
In contrast, the International Criminal Court in The Hague cannot prosecute the crime of aggression.
"Unless they acknowledge it's an aggression, they can't participate," an unnamed official said of the U.S. opposition to the designation of Russia as the aggressor.
The publication writes that the loss of the U.S. support for the tribunal would be a serious blow to the project's international reputation and authority. "Rewriting history and pretending that Russia wasn't the one who started this war is something that we simply cannot and will not agree to," the European diplomat said.
The United States has not yet officially withdrawn from the scheme and is expected to attend the next meeting next month in Strasbourg, France.
A diplomatic note seen by the publication showed that European officials were "shocked" by US claims at a series of international meetings that Russia should be invited back into the "civilised world". Talks are currently underway in European capitals about the possible collapse of the special tribunal if the United States does go.