Crime & Justice

Russia absent for hearing at top UN court over Ukraine invasion

The Hague, Mar 7 (EFE).- Russia did not attend Monday its trial at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for allegedly violating the Genocide Convention by its invasion of Ukraine that began on Feb. 24.

“The court regrets the non-appearance of the Russian Federation in these oral proceedings,” ICJ President Joan Donoghue said.

Ukraine’s representative at The Hague, Anton Korynevych, also criticized Moscow for skipping the hearing at at the Peace Palace, the ICJ headquarters in The Hague.

“The fact that Russia’s seats are empty speaks loudly. They are not here in this court of law, they are on a battlefield, waging aggressive war against my country,” stressed Korynevych.

Ukraine said Russia was misinterpreting the Genocide Convention, a 1948 treaty signed by both countries, to justify its invasion by claiming an alleged genocide of the Russian-speaking population in the Ukrainian provinces of Donetsk and Lugansk.

The Kyiv representative highlighted that more than one and a half million refugees had left the country since Feb. 24, and thousands of people were hiding in the shelters of the capital.

Kyiv urged the court to pressurize Moscow against taking measures that could aggravate or extend the dispute, and provide the court with periodic reports on the possible precautionary measures imposed on them. EFE

dmu/sc

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