Austria joins agreement on special tribunal on Russian aggression

Austria has announced its intention to join the Enlarged Partial Agreement on the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine.

Austria became the 20th country to announce its participation in the agreement.

"Accountability is a key trajectory of Austria's foreign policy. There can be no lasting peace in Ukraine without accountability," the Austrian Foreign Ministry stated.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha welcomed Vienna's decision to join the agreement.

"I am grateful to Austria and my colleague Beate Meinl-Reisinger for once again proving that neutrality does not mean indifference. To the contrary, accountability is critical to ensure a lasting peace on our continent," Sybiha wrote on X.

Earlier, Sybiha said Ukraine had secured the "legal minimum" of Council of Europe member states required to put the agreement to a vote. Such a vote is possible at a meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on 14 and 15 May in Chișinău.

France has announced its readiness to join the Enlarged Partial Agreement, which will make it possible to launch the work of the Special Tribunal on Russia's crime of aggression.

The European Union has allocated the first €10 million towards the work of a special tribunal for the crime of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, which is being created under the aegis of the Council of Europe.

Read more: Saving Putin from justice. Who in Europe is stalling the trial and who is helping Ukraine