For Paris, "there is no peace without justice". The issuance Friday by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of an arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin for war crimes in Ukraine is therefore an "extremely important" decision, said Sunday the French Minister of Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna.
This "means that anyone responsible for war crimes or crimes against humanity will be held accountable, regardless of their status or rank," said the head of diplomacy in an interview with the Journal du Dimanche. "From now on, no link in the chain can think that he will escape justice and this should lead many to think," she continues, "so it is a decision that can change the course of events."
A "historic" decision for Zelensky
The decision of the ICC, which sits in The Hague, concerns the "deportation" of thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia since the beginning of the conflict with Ukraine a year ago, which constitutes a war crime. While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called it "historic," Moscow dismissed it as "null and void" because Russia is not a member of the ICC and therefore does not recognize the court's jurisdiction, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
"The France supports the court, just as it helps the Ukrainian justice system by sending specialized teams to document abuses or identify victims," said Catherine Colonna.
Asked about the deliveries of 13 MiG-29 fighters by Slovakia and 4 others by Poland announced this week, the minister replied that "anything that helps Ukraine is useful". "Countries that have Soviet equipment that Ukrainians already know were able to make this decision. (...) To counter (the Russian offensive), Ukraine must be able to resist with means available now," she added. And as for the future delivery of combat aircraft more advanced by the France, "in principle, the President of the Republic and the Minister of the Armed Forces have said, there is no taboo".
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