Zelenskyy: Maduro faces court while Putin does not

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has criticised what he called the slow pace of efforts to hold the Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin to account.

Zelenskyy, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, said that the world has recently seen a rapid US operation in Venezuela and the capture of its President Nicolas Maduro, who will now be tried in the United States, while the Russian leader remains unpunished for the harm inflicted on Ukraine.

"Maduro was arrested, and there were different opinions about it, but the fact remains – Maduro is on trial in New York. Sorry, but Putin is not on trial. And this is the fourth year of the biggest war in Europe since World War II. And the man who started it is not only free – he is still fighting for his frozen money in Europe," he said.

Zelenskyy went on to say discussions often avoid mentioning the International Criminal Court because of the US' attitude to it, particularly under the Trump administration.

"At the same time, there is still no real progress on establishing a special tribunal for Russian aggression against Ukraine… And we have an agreement; it's true. Many meetings have taken place, but still Europe hasn't reached even the point of having a home for the tribunal with staff and actual work happening inside. What's missing – time or political will? Too often in Europe something else is always more urgent than justice," he added.

Zelenskyy also criticised Europe for not acting against Russian tankers in the way US President Donald Trump did with shadow fleet tankers.

Zelenskyy began his speech shortly after meeting US President Donald Trump, a meeting both sides described as "good".