BERLIN, April 8 (Reuters) - German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is calling for a war crimes tribunal against Russian President Vladimir Putin and foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, German magazine Der Spiegel cited Steinmeier as saying.
"Anyone who has responsibility for these crimes will have to explain themselves," Steinmeier told Der Spiegel in an interview.
"That includes soldiers. That includes military commanders. And of course also those that have the political responsibility," he said.
Ukraine has accused Russia of genocide and war crimes. The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Western allegations that Russian forces executed civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha were a "monstrous forgery" meant to discredit the Russian army and justify new Western sanctions.
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Reporting by Thomas Escritt; Writing by Maria Sheahan
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
arronaxx88 on April 8th, 2022 at 15:07 UTC »
Am I blind?
I can't find a text that's fitting the headline.
dac-attack on April 8th, 2022 at 13:55 UTC »
Glad to see Lavrov name there, he shouldn't be allowed to lie and deflect to that degree without being considered a war criminal as well.
ArsCortica on April 8th, 2022 at 12:34 UTC »
A thing to keep in mind is that the German president technically has far-reaching legal authority (i.e, the president theoretically could veto any and all federal laws before signing them into function), but traditionally stays out of regular day-to-day politics and takes a mostly ceremonial role as a representative of the Federal Republic of Germany. In a way, you could liken him to the British Queen.
That being said: The very same tradition establishes the German president as the "conscience of the nation" - so if the guy whose one job is about political restraint makes official statements like these, the room is very much on fire.