It is likely that the agreement on the Special Tribunal will be adopted during the meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in Chisinau on May 14-15
Andriy Sybiga (photo by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine)
Iceland and Poland have confirmed their readiness to join the agreement on the establishment of a Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, which has reached the minimum number of participants required to launch the process. This was reported to by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andriy Sybiga .
According to him, after receiving 17 confirmations from the Council of Europe member states, the agreement can be officially put to a vote.
“This is a turning point: with 17 confirmations, we have officially passed the minimum legal threshold of the Council of Europe member states required to put the agreement to a vote,” wrote Andriy Sybiga.
It is expected that the Enlarged Partial Agreement on the Steering Committee of the Special Tribunal will be considered and adopted during the meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in Chisinau on May 14-15.
Sibiga noted that less than a year has passed since the initiative to establish the tribunal was launched in Lviv in May 2025, and all the necessary legal steps have been prepared for its launch.
Ukraine plans to continue engaging new countries in this initiative both within and outside the Council of Europe.
The Foreign Ministry emphasizes that the establishment of the tribunal is key to bringing the Russian leadership to justice and ensuring justice.
The countries that have confirmed their consent to participate in the Special Tribunal, in addition to Ukraine, include the United Kingdom, Estonia, Spain, Costa Rica, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, the Netherlands, Germany, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Croatia.
Why it matters. If Russia’s war against Ukraine ends without Moscow being punished, it could change the world order and strengthen the principle of the “right of force.” At the same time, experts emphasize that a just and lasting peace cannot be achieved without punishing Russia for war crimes. Why justice is a prerequisite for sustainable peace, read more in the article Crime without punishment. How Trump wants peace at the cost of Ukraine, and where it is leading the world at LIGA.net