Gordon Brown calls for Vladimir Putin to be punished by special tribunal for war crimes

A special international tribunal is needed to bring Vladimir Putin to justice for war crimes in Ukraine, Gordon Brown said yesterday.

The former Prime Minister spoke out after the International Criminal Court (ICC) opened an investigation into the Russian invasion.

Brown said: “This week, speaking from Ukraine with his own life in danger, Dmytro Kuleba, the Ukrainian foreign minister, joined us by video link to plead with western nations to plug this loophole. I believe that we must do so by creating a special tribunal to investigate the specific crime of aggression.

“We did this during the Second World War. In 1942, representatives from nations who had been invaded by the Nazis met in London to draft a resolution entitled “Punishment for war crimes”, which led, at the end of the conflict, to the creation of an International Military Tribunal and the Nuremberg trials.”

Conservative MP and chair of the foreign affairs committee in the Commons, Tom Tugendhat, also called for a special tribunal over the crisis in Ukraine.

“What we’re seeing in Ukraine today isn’t just the result of a crime but actually an entire conspiracy,” said Tugendhat, “and the conspiracy is one led by Vladimir Putin, but actually enabled by many others.

“It has turned his state from a state in the way that you or I would recognise it to, instead, an organisation rather more akin to a gangster group or a mafia outfit.

“Therefore we need to look at prosecution in a wider sense to make sure that we’re bringing charges against the state, or rather the gang, for all the crimes that it is committing.”

The ICJ will hold hearings tomorrow and Tuesday on Ukraine’s application for provisional measures of protection against Russian aggression.

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg can also investigate Russia’s actions, and this week the European Court ordered interim measures of protection in a case lodged by Ukraine against Russia.

Ukraine accused Russia of massive human rights violations amid military aggression against sovereign territory.

The court asked Russia to refrain from military attacks against civilians and civilian objects, including residential premises, emergency vehicles and schools, and to ensure immediately the safety of medical establishments.

However, Russian bombardment of civilian areas in battleground cities has continued and hundreds of lives have been lost.

Admiral: We need to leave space for a compromise

By Mark Aitken

Any ceasefire will depend on compromising with Vladimir Putin despite his baseless invasion, according to Admiral Lord West.

The former First Sea Lord said: “We all think Russia behaved abominably and why should they get anything for what they’ve done. But at the end of the day that just leads to more strife.

“If you get some sort of agreement then you have to make concessions. For example – and I’m not saying I’m happy or agree with this – the concession might be there is a plebiscite in Crimea and if the Crimean people vote to stay with Russia that will become part of Russia.

“I don’t think the Nato issue is what’s really driving Putin, but there could be a statement that Ukraine will not join Nato for two years and in two years the parties involved will have a meeting or conference to decide if that can change or not.

“If Putin feels he has got something, even though he has behaved appallingly and should get nothing, and it’s something the Ukrainians and Nato can live with, then there’s the basis on which to have a ceasefire and start negotiating.

“I don’t think Nato, the EU or our leaders in this country have thought very clearly what agreed end state would be acceptable to the Ukrainians, Russians and ourselves.

“We need to start doing some very clear thinking about that because otherwise we won’t be able to achieve anything.”

Britain spends over £40 billion a year on defence spending, about 2% of the country’s GDP, but Lord West said spending should be increased to around 3%.

He said: “I think Putin believed the West was so soft because is because we stopped spending on defence. There is no doubt our armed forces have been cut too far. Looking to the future, we should be considering increasing our defence spending to 3% of GDP. Putin would notice that.”

Analyst: Be wary of China’s involvement

Any suggestion China could forge peace in Ukraine should be met with scepticism, according to Russia-China relations expert Dr Marcin Kaczmarski.

Beijing has said it is willing to play a role in finding a ceasefire and “deplored” the outbreak of conflict.

Kaczmarski, lecturer in security studies at Glasgow University, said: “China is caught between two aspects of the conflict. On one hand, it draws US attention away from the Indo-Pacific. On the other, China is increasingly seen as complicit in Russia’s aggression and may suffer economic losses.”

Kaczmarski said China may be willing to offer financial aid to Russia, but only if it benefits them. He said: “China could invest in shares of Russian energy companies. But it wouldn’t be a selfless act. China could squeeze Russia to improve its position on the Russian market or take control of assets Russia was previously unwilling to sell.”

Kaczmarski said the relationship between Russia and China was “multi-faceted”. “There is ever-increasing co-operation in areas such as energy, security and politics. But there is a number of issues they disagree on.”