Frozen Russian assets could fund Special Tribunal, Ukrainian lawmaker says

The main obstacle to launching a Special Tribunal on Russia’s Crime of Aggression against Ukraine remains securing funding, and one of the most obvious solutions could be the use of frozen Russian assets.

This was stated in a comment to Ukrinform by Serhii Sobolev, First Deputy Head of the Verkhovna Rada’s permanent delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

“There is a problem in that there are currently no funds to run the tribunal. But there are several potential sources. First, direct assistance from the European Union – this could be financed through individual European countries with a clear EU position. Second, frozen Russian assets. If they were released specifically for this purpose, it would resolve the issue entirely,” Sobolev said.

According to him, this is why he asked Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset during a PACE plenary session whether the time had come for closer cooperation between the Council of Europe and the European Union to find a practical solution based on Russia’s frozen funds.

“Berset confirmed that he is working very actively with the European Commission and will soon meet with European Commissioner Michael McGrath. Frozen assets are part of the ‘possible discussions’ on funding. Ideally, these funds would be used, or the European Union would directly finance it,” Sobolev explained.

In the lawmaker’s view, another factor delaying the project is the position of the Netherlands, which wants to construct a separate, specially equipped building for the tribunal.

“They have stated that trials for such high-level criminals must take place in a specially secured facility to prevent any risk of abduction or assassination. This would require a dedicated complex that is very expensive and would need to be built from scratch. That also causes delays, as such significant funding must be found. Formally, European authorities could influence the Netherlands on this matter,” Sobolev added.

He also believes that the Council of Europe and PACE have already completed all the necessary preparatory work.

“Everything has been done, all decisions have been made. The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers has even appealed to the parliaments of countries participating in the Special Tribunal to speed up ratification of the relevant agreements,” he noted.

As reported by Ukrinform, in addition to Ukraine, 19 Council of Europe member states, as well as Costa Rica, have joined the initiative to establish the Special Tribunal.