Through the decision of the UN GA, Putin can be prosecuted, - Amb. William Taylor

The United Nations General Assembly special Resolution can become a possibility to start the international tribunal case to bring the President of Russia Vladimir Putin to justice for the aggression against Ukraine.

This opinion was expressed by Ambassador William Taylor, Vice President of the US Institute of Peace, United States Ambassador to Ukraine in 2006-09, at the 15^th annual Kyiv Security Forum, established by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk’s “Open Ukraine” Foundation.

“The question now is how exactly to start this process and what are the other options, the diplomat said.

According to him, one of the options is the adoption of the UN General Assembly Resolution: “This document should be developed together with the government of Ukraine and the international tribunal.”

Amb. William Taylor recalled that Ukraine managed to gain support of 141 and even 143 member states of the General Assembly: “Extraordinary efforts will be needed, but this can be done.”

The diplomat also noted that the United States offered another mechanism for launching the legal process.

“The second option is an initiative put forth by a smaller group of countries, such as European countries, to create an international tribunal. The USA proposed a hybrid option, which found little support with Ukrainians and others. The idea was to internationalize a national court. That is, it could have been a Ukrainian court operating with international support,” he said.

As a third option Amb. William Taylor mentioned the idea of considering a lawsuit against Putin in one of the national courts of third countries, for example, in a European court, with the jurisdiction of deliberating cases relating to the crime aggression.

The diplomat also touched upon the prospects of the NATO summit, which will soon be held in Vilnius: “The promise given to Ukraine back in 2008 may come true now... Last week, Minister Reznikov asked our group of American experts about NATO’s open door policy. He said: “Where exactly is this door, we can’t see it.” We have to see these doors very clearly in Vilnius. I honestly believe so.”

Noteworthy, the 15^th annual Kyiv security forum “For Our and Your Freedom/ Fighting for NATO” will be held on May 25-26, 2023, with the participation of well-known international figures. In particular, at the Forum, the KSF Security Council will be established and a policy document will be adopted with recommendations for the NATO summit in Vilnius to be held this July.