The Baltic states on Friday called for the creation of a special tribunal to consider “crimes of aggression” committed by Russia against Ukraine, thus renewing Kyiv’s request on the second day of the European Council summit, which gathers the leaders of the 27 member states of the European Union in Brussels, reports AFP. transferred by Agerpres.

“We absolutely need to discuss a legal response to the committed crimes of aggression and the creation of a special court to prosecute the perpetrators,” said Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas.

“War crimes fall under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC), but crimes of aggression can only be tried by a special court, and I believe that the European Union could be a leader in this regard,” said the Estonian Prime Minister. .

“Yesterday, I heard the Ukrainian president talking about the terrorist acts committed by Russia in Ukraine,” she added a day after Volodymyr Zelensky’s video conference speech at the summit of EU heads of state and government.

Latvian Prime Minister Kristianis Karinsh called on Europe to remain united to “support Ukraine, not only to condemn (verbally) Russia, but also to start working on creating a tribunal that will hold Russia accountable for the atrocities it has committed now in Ukraine “.

The two Baltic states, together with Lithuania, already appealed to the EU in mid-October to help Ukraine create such a court that would “complement” the ICC.

The Czech Republic, which is currently chairing the EU Council for six months, also spoke out in favor of a special court after the discovery of hundreds of bodies buried near Izyum, a town retaken by Ukrainian forces from the Russians in eastern Ukraine.

However, the 27 EU countries do not have a common position on the creation of such a special court, as Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly requested.

European Commission Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders estimated last week that “first, it is necessary to make maximum use of all existing tools”: the services of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General, investigations conducted by 14 member states, and the ICC investigation.

He also asked the Ukrainian authorities to “ratify the Rome Statute, take official participation in the ISS, so that later we can discuss other possible solutions.”