United States mulls whether to back special tribunal for Russia – Biden’s rep in Vilnius

VILNIUS – The United States mulls whether to support the initiative of the Baltic countries on setting up a special tribunal for Russia, Robert Berschinski, Special Assistant to U.S. President Joe Biden, said in Vilnius on Thursday.

“We haven’t made a decision with respect to a special tribunal yet, it’s still under discussion,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the second high-level Future of Democracy Forum, hosted by the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry.

He stressed that Russia would be held accountable for its invasion and war crimes in Ukraine, but the form this would take would be decided in the future.

“We are supporting the government of Ukraine in terms of its national efforts to hold Russians accountable for their actions. We are also supporting a full range of international actors – from the International Criminal Court to other bodies under the UN, OSCE,” Berschinski added.

In mid-October, the three Baltic States called on the European Union (EU), together with international partners, to establish a Special Tribunal that would allow investigating Russia’s crime of aggression in Ukraine, saying that such a tribunal would also allow holding Russia’s political and military leadership to account.