Mr Chair, Secretary General, Excellencies,

Today is a historic day. We are making history. Just like the Nuremberg tribunal 80 years ago, this Special Tribunal in The Hague will restore justice from the ruins of war.

And this is not an abstract idea. Yesterday, a Russian strike on Kyiv killed 24 people, including 3 children. Their relatives are watching this meeting now. We have no moral right to fail. They deserve justice. And today’s agreement, officially approved by 37 states on three continents, makes justice inevitable.

Colleagues,

Today, we have passed the point of no-return. The Special Tribunal becomes a legal reality. Very few believed this day would come. But it did.  One year ago in Lviv we approved the political decision. Just one year later, we have the implementation agreement. For international criminal justice, such a speed is a true legal record.

The moral foundation of Europe and the world will only be restored when the crime of aggression against Ukraine is punished. It is not a matter of the past. It is a matter of the future. A matter of restoring a common space of truth, justice, and trust. It’s also about dignity.

Putin always wanted to go down in history. And this Tribunal will help him achieve this. He will go down in history. As a criminal. And not only him. Putin, Shoigu, Gerasimov, Bortnikov, Zolotov, Medvedev, Patrushev, Lukashenko, and others. Today, they all got their ticket to The Hague.

Many people told us we were dreamers. But this agreement in front of me is not a dream. It is a reality.

Ukraine believed in the Tribunal from the very beginning. And just in the same way, I am certain, we will achieve peace, EU accession, and other goals.

Over the past centuries, Ukraine has suffered too many atrocities, oppression, occupation, world wars, genocides, Stalin’s repressions, Chornobyl, and other crimes. And we never — I emphasize, never — saw real justice. 

The Special Tribunal will break this vicious cycle. For every soul murdered. For every world destroyed. For every destiny cut short.

But today is not the end. It is the beginning. There will be more countries. There will be premises in The Hague. There will be the first committee. And there will be verdicts. Ukraine needs it. Europe needs it. And even Russia needs this Tribunal.

We are creating an infrastructure of accountability with three pillars: the Special Tribunal, the Register of Damages, and the Claims Commission. Let me also emphasize that accountability will never be up for compromise. Justice is an essential element of lasting peace.

I thank all of you for making this day a reality. I appreciate all of you present here. Special thanks to Moldova, dear Mihai, for your great hospitality and presidency. And I especially thank the Secretary General Alain Berset. This day would not have come without your leadership and courage.

Thank you and let’s continue our work. Thank you all.