The President of Latvia called for the transfer of sovereign assets of the Russian Federation to Ukraine

Egils Levits talks about military aid for Ukraine, a special tribunal for Russian war crimes, and how to respond to nuclear blackmail.

Foreign Policy recently spoke with Levits about speeding up military aid for Ukraine, the importance of a special tribunal to investigate Russian war crimes, and how to respond to Putin’s nuclear blackmail attempts. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

"Let me explain why we therefore need a formal judicial recognition that Russia’s war against Ukraine is a crime of aggression. Two international courts are already dealing with specific aspects of the aggression. But no international court is responsible for the crime of aggression as such, of starting an aggressive war. Therefore, we need to establish a special international tribunal like the ones we had for Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Cambodia, and other countries. Such a tribunal would not only deal with the responsibility of individuals but also the accountability of the Russian state as such. This is especially important in the context of reparations: The $300 billion to $400 billion of seized Russian assets due to Western sanctions should be given to Ukraine in order to rebuild it. I believe this is also a task for this special tribunal".

Source: FP