Medvedev comments on West’s ‘war crimes’ threat — RT World News
Former Russian leader says any attempt to threaten a nuclear nation is a risky business
The West should be wary of Russia’s nuclear arsenal when it talks about holding a « war crimes » tribunal against Moscow, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has urged. He made the statement during a speech at the international legal forum in St. Petersburg on Thursday.
“Do these countries and these politicians really believe in the possibility of holding a criminal court against a country which has the largest nuclear arsenal in the world? Medvedev asked during the forum, adding that “I am not even talking about the practical benefits of such measures. It’s just nonsense, let’s face it.
He went on to wonder why the United States, for example, has never been condemned by the international community for its own military interventions. « I don’t recall a single successful attempt to stage such a trial for the many military campaigns that the United States waged in the 20th and 21st centuries, » he added. he said.
Although the International Criminal Court formally launched criminal investigations into alleged war crimes committed on Afghan territory, including by the United States and its allies, these efforts ultimately did not result in any trials. Moreover, after years of obstruction by the United States, the ICC’s lead prosecutor, Karim Khan, announced last year that his investigation would focus only on crimes committed by the Taliban and the state. Islamic.
The former president insisted that Washington « to say the least, illegal actions » were used to build a “An Anglo-Saxon democracy on the bones of the civilian populations of Korea, Vietnam, Yugoslavia, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Medvedev, who is now deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, noted that Russia is a country that « are at the origin of the construction of the current world order and constitute the legal basis for the creation of international organizations » like those who demanded a tribunal to judge the Russian government.
His response comes after a stormy UN Security Council session earlier this week in which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appeared via video link and accused Russia of targeting civilians amid the ongoing military conflict. between Moscow and Kyiv.
Zelensky demanded that Russia be declared « terrorist state » and expelled from both the council and the UN. He also insisted that an international tribunal be set up to try the Russian government on what he called a « large-scale war of conquest ».
Zelensky’s calls have been backed by representatives from Poland, Estonia and the UK, but expelling Russia from the Security Council or the UN is virtually impossible as it is a permanent member of the organization and has the power to veto such a decision.
Moscow has vehemently denied targeting civilians during its special operation in the country and accused kyiv of waging a propaganda war to obtain more weapons and financial aid from the West.
Russia sent troops to Ukraine on February 24, citing kyiv’s failure to implement the Minsk agreements, intended to give the Donetsk and Lugansk regions special status within the Ukrainian state. The protocols, brokered by Germany and France, were first signed in 2014. Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has since admitted that kyiv’s main goal was to use the ceasefire to save time and « create powerful armed forces ».
In February 2022, the Kremlin recognized the Donbas republics as independent states and demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join any Western military bloc. kyiv insists the Russian offensive was unprovoked.
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