Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo slammed Russia's “aggression” and “war crimes” in Ukraine, in an address at the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Friday.
For the Belgian Prime Minister, Russia's actions and President Vladimir Putin’s recent threats of nuclear war were “much more reminiscent of medieval barbarism than of Russian greatness.”
The UN was created after World War II “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, as the preamble of the UN Charter begins,” De Croo recalled.
"If today, the world is less stable and less secure, it is because one of the founding members of the United Nations has trampled” the principles of territorial integrity and national sovereignty, “and unleashed a war that reminds us of Europe’s darkest hours,” he noted
“We are living in one of the darkest moments since the birth of the United Nations,” De Croo added. “Faced with Russian aggression and, indeed, war crimes, the UN is challenged to fulfill its calling.
"Everyone in this room, every single country, will one day be asked 'What did you do to stop this? What did you do to protect the people of Ukraine? Did you look away, or did you act? In this conflict, there is no room for neutrality."
The Belgian Prime Minister insisted that all serious crimes in Ukraine should be investigated and prosecuted. “There will never be peace without accountability,” he said, pointing to Russia's war crimes in Ukraine, such as the massacre of over 400 civilians in the town of Bucha in March.
“We support the ICC [International Criminal Court] to fully investigate and prosecute all serious crimes committed in Ukraine," he said. “There is no room for impunity, not for the butchers of Bucha and definitely not for the leaders in Moscow who are calling the shots and bear the ultimate responsibility.”
