The United States has "made it clear" that it may stop prosecuting Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
This is reported by The Telegraph.
Western officials said Washington refused to label Moscow an “aggressor” at a meeting of Core Group member states preparing a potential tribunal for Putin. The group is leading a coalition of 40 nations to form a special tribunal to investigate crimes of aggression against Ukraine, as was done after World War II.
The US also refuses to co-author a United Nations statement supporting Ukraineʼs territorial integrity and demanding that Moscow withdraw troops from its territory.
The administration of US President Donald Trump is also against the signing of a statement by the G7 allies on the occasion of the third anniversary of a full-scale war in which Russia will be called the "aggressor".
European officials fear that Trumpʼs rhetoric against Putin will lead to the Kremlin leader avoiding responsibility for the invasion as part of any peace settlement. The loss of Washingtonʼs support for the tribunal would deal a "serious blow" to the reputation and authority of the Core Group, The Telegraph writes.
The United States has not officially left the project yet. The country is expected to participate in the next Core Group meeting, which will be held in Strasbourg, France, in March.
After the change of power in the US, Washington has insisted that the war in Ukraine be called a “conflict” in international discussions. According to media reports, this term appears twice in the US State Department report on the meeting between Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
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