Putin, Lavrov should face ICC trial for Russia's war on Ukraine: German president

By Oliver Towfigh Nia

BERLIN (AA) – Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov should be tried by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for their military aggression in Ukraine, Germany’s president said on Friday.

“Everyone who is responsible for these crimes will have to justify themselves. This includes soldiers. This includes military commanders. And, of course, also those who bear political responsibility,” Frank-Walter Steinmeier told Der Spiegel news magazine.

Last month, the ICC chief prosecutor opened an investigation into the Ukraine war, saying there was “reasonable basis to believe that both alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed.”

Steinmeier said the images coming from the Ukrainian city of Bucha are terrible and he “can hardly bear them.”

“They summarize once again what Russia’s criminal attack on Ukraine means, what suffering and death it brings, including expulsion. It makes you incredibly angry and sad,” he said.

The German president admitted he was shocked by Putin’s decision to declare war on Ukraine.

Steinmeier said he “didn’t assume that the Russian president would, in an imperial frenzy, risk the total political, economic, moral ruin of his country.”

A longtime and staunch advocate for European rapprochement with Moscow, Steinmeier voiced regret for his earlier position, saying his past support for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline was a clear mistake.

Steinmeier added that Russia’s war on Ukraine meant that he and others had to admit honestly that they were wrong in their assessment of Putin.