Britain is planning to support efforts to put Vladimir Putin on trial for war crimes, a report says. The move is inspired by the Nuremberg trials after World War II. The UK is expected to join many European countries in backing a plan at the Council of Europe. The aim is to try Russian leaders for “crimes of aggression” during the Ukraine invasion.
European nations are living in dreams of their good times. They have not come out yet and are not able to see their upcoming geopolitical doomsday for Europe. Europeans have to understand that Russia is not defeated the way Germany and Japan were in World War II. Rather, Russian footprints and status have increased. Secondly, at the time of the Nuremberg trials, the US was on the side of Europe, but now the US has started decoupling itself from Europe. Europe should focus on its own problems rather than call for Putin’s trial.
The Daily Mail reports that plans are being made to form a special military court. This court will focus on Russian generals and top leaders. The court will look into the crime of aggression. The UN says this means any attack or invasion by one state’s army on another state’s land.
Top lawyers, including Philippe Sands, a close friend of Sir Keir Starmer, support the idea. Reports say the UK wants the trial to cover both war crimes during the invasion and the political decision to start the war. The UK has forgotten its own crimes in colonized countries during its oppressive rule. This looks truly hypocritical.
However, this move could hurt the ties between PM Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump. The US has pulled its support and money from the International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression. The Centre was backed by President Biden and set up with help from US lawyers.
President Trump looks ready to build good relations with Russia based on mutual interests. He does not call the Ukraine invasion an invasion. He avoids calling Russia the “aggressor”. He even called Ukraine’s leader Zelensky a “dictator”.
The UK has covertly sent troops to Ukraine in order to support Ukraine in the War with Russia, which is totally a violation of international law and the territorial integrity of Russia, yet the UK is pushing for Putin’s trial despite knowing that they will not be able to do any substantial damage to Putin or the Russian generals. It shows that the Europeans have really forgotten the rules and norms of geopolitics and are struggling to mark their interest at this point in time.
