Thirty-six countries approve creation of special tribunal for Ukraine

Thirty-four European states plus Australia, Costa Rica and the EU said Friday they would join a future special tribunal for Ukraine to prosecute Russia over its invasion of the country.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed an accord with the Council of Europe last year to create a legal body to prosecute the "crime of aggression" in the invasion Russia launched in 2022.

The Council of Ministers -- comprising foreign ministers from the organisation's 46-member states -- in a meeting approved a resolution laying the groundwork for the future tribunal, it said in a statement.

It added that 34 of the council's member states plus the European Union as an institution and Costa Rica and Australia had "expressed their intention" to join in the agreement establishing the court.

"The time for Russia to be held to account for its aggression is fast approaching," said Alain Berset, the secretary general of the Council of Europe, which acts as a guardian of human rights and democracy across the continent.

"The special tribunal represents justice and hope. Action now needs to be taken to follow up on this political commitment by securing the tribunal's functioning and funding," he added in the statement.

Members of the France-based rights body include the European Union's 27 countries but also key European states from outside the bloc such as Turkey, Britain and Ukraine.

Russia was expelled from the Council of Europe in 2022, following its invasion of Ukraine.

Kyiv and its supporters want to see justice served for Russia's war and European foreign ministers endorsed the creation of the judicial body in a meeting last year.

The tribunal, which was initially intended to start work this year, could in theory try senior figures up to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague has already issued arrest warrants for Putin over the abduction of Ukrainian children and four of his top commanders for targeting civilians.

But the ICC does not have the jurisdiction to prosecute Russia for the more fundamental decision to launch the invasion.

Twelve Council of Europe member states have not yet joined the tribunal agreement, including EU members Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Malta.

Others yet to sign on include four Balkan countries -- Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Albania --- as well as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey.