DAVOS: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday expressed dissatisfaction over what he described as insufficient progress in establishing a special tribunal on Russian aggression at the International Criminal Court (ICC), saying justice was being delayed.
Zelenskyy made the remarks during an address at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, shortly after holding a closed-door meeting with US President Donald Trump.
“Too often in Europe something else is more urgent than justice,” Zelenskyy said, pointing to the lack of movement on the proposed mechanism.
“There is still no real progress on establishing a special tribunal for Russian aggression against Ukraine, against the Ukrainian people,” he said.
Zelenskyy noted that while multiple discussions had taken place, tangible steps had not followed. “Many meetings have taken place but still Europe hasn’t reached even the point of having a home for the tribunal, with staff and actual work happening inside”.
“What’s missing, time or political will?” he asked.
However, Zelenskyy said he remained “grateful” for ongoing cooperation with partners on security guarantees for Ukraine after the war ends.
The remarks came as Zelenskyy and Trump held talks on the sidelines of the WEF in Davos, with Russia’s war in Ukraine remaining a key focus of discussions at the summit.
According to CNN, the meeting concluded after lasting around an hour. The Ukrainian Presidency had earlier said the talks between the two leaders were underway before later confirming the meeting had ended.
After the closed-door interaction, Zelenskyy’s communications advisor said he had a “good meeting” with Trump in Davos on Thursday.
Trump later told reporters the meeting had gone well but said there is still “a long ways to go” toward ending the war with Russia. “The war has to end,” he said as he emerged from the meeting with Zelenskyy. “We hope it’s going to end. There are a lot of people being killed”.
The meeting took place amid indications that efforts to end the conflict may be reaching a critical phase. Negotiations aimed at ending the conflict were “down to one issue,” US envoy Steve Witkoff said, according to CNN. A European official separately confirmed to the network that the issue was related to territory.
