N. Dendias: “We fully support the persecution of Putin”

Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, in his greeting via video link to the Core Group online summit, mentioned the responsibility for Russia’s crime against Ukraine, which means that the Mitsotakis government has decided to include Greece in the group of countries that want to try Putin as a “war criminal” .

Note that a month ago, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putinaccusing him of responsibility for war crimes allegedly committed in Ukraine.

The Greek government did not want to follow in the footsteps of the South African government, which announced the termination of the agreement with the International Criminal Court because the latter is demanding the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Nikos Dendias specifically noted the almost complete destruction of Mariupol: “Under no circumstances should civilians and those not actively participating in hostilities be legitimate targets.”he noted.

In this context, the Greek Foreign Minister stated that “bringing to account for major international crimes committed in Ukraine is a priority for Greece and other member countries EU“, and that Greece gives its full support to the ICC, Ukraine and the international community in their efforts to finally bring the perpetrators of these crimes to justice.

“Greece has stood for justice from the very first moment for the crimes committed in Ukraine since Russia started the war. Greece, together with the EU and other partners, fully supports the investigations of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court,” – he said.

In particular, according to him, Greece supports the initiatives of the EU and other international actors aimed at facilitating the work of the ICC prosecutor, assisting the Ukrainian judiciary in documenting, investigating and prosecuting international crimes, as well as promoting coherence in various accountability efforts.

Indeed, he stressed that the establishment in The Hague of the International Center for the Prosecution of Crime Against Civilians is an important step. At the same time, he stressed that Russia’s aggressive war poses an existential threat to Ukraine and a fundamental challenge to European security and a system based on international law and the inviolability of borders. In this context, he noted that Greece was in full solidarity with Ukraine from the very first moment and emphasized that the restoration of a just and lasting peace in Ukraine on the basis of the UN Charter and international law lies at the heart of its goals.

It is worth noting that it was Nikos Dendias who initiated several evacuation convoys from Mariupol, called Νόστοςthanks to which several dozen ethnic Greeks were able to be taken out of the war-torn city.

Source link