The Estonian head of state added that there is no place for impunity. “The criminals must know that they will be brought to justice,” he urged. “We cannot allow the Russian authorities to think and act as though they are untouchable. To this end we must ensure that the war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine are investigated and that the perpetrators are prosecuted, for which purpose we must set up a special international tribunal.”
Speaking about the register of war damage established by Member States of Council of Europe, President Karis said that it must be swiftly adopted and involve as many countries as possible. The register will gather, analyse and preserve evidence of the damage caused as a result of Russia’s aggression since 24 February 2022 and Ukrainian claims for compensation in this regard. “Our next step is to establish a mechanism for those claims,” he added, “because the principle of international law requires Russia to compensate for the damage its aggression has caused to Ukraine.”
Estonia is one of the founding members of the register. President Karis noted that the country was also one of the first to appoint national experts to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court so as to help it cope with its growing workload. “National proceedings have also been initiated in Estonia for the gathering of evidence and witness statements to investigate the crimes committed as part of the war in Ukraine,” he explained.
The head of state also spoke about the need to help with the rebuilding of Ukraine, something to which Estonia is already contributing despite the ongoing war. “We are currently focussed on the Zhytomyr region, where an environmentally friendly new kindergarten has been built with our assistance in the city of Ovruch,” he said. “Going forward we will be working to restore other civilian objects and critical infrastructure destroyed by Russia.”
Taking part in the roundtable alongside President Karis were President Nataša Pirc Musar of Slovenia, President Sauli Niinistö of Finland, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal of Ukraine, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar of Ireland, Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Netherlands, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković of Croatia, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, OSCE Secretary General Helga Schmidt and Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Tobias Billström.
Gallery: https://president.ee/et/meediakajastus/fotod/1082-euroopa-noukogu-4-tippkohtumine-reykjavikis
