In the fourth summit since its establishment 75 years ago and not held for 20 years, the leaders of the Council of Europe are heading to Iceland to participate in the meeting of the Council of Europe to express their solidarity with Kyiv and the unity of their position against Moscow and increase the means of holding it criminally responsible for the destruction and crimes caused by its invasion of Ukraine.

 Edited by| Paul Mitchel

Politic section -  CJ journalist   

Ukraine conflict news section      

Iceland – May,16,2023

   A "register of damage" caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine is scheduled to be released, two months after the International Criminal Court announced the issuance of an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin

Von der Leyen, who, like others in Europe, is calling for the creation of a special war crimes tribunal for Ukraine, possibly based in The Hague, said such a "register of damages" would be a "first step and a big step towards compensation paid by Russia."

The summit in Reykjavik will be chaired by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will deliver an opening speech via video, according to officials in London who received him during his recent visit to the UK

Through this Summit, Europe also seeks to demonstrate its unity and solidarity with Kyiv. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed that Europe "will continue to support Ukraine as long as necessary". She promised that Europe would not take any steps "on Ukraine without Ukraine's participation" in it, at a time when Kyiv fears that it will find itself under pressure from its allies to negotiate with Moscow if the expected military successes are not achieved quickly

In their speeches, Macron, Sunak, and Schulz are expected to express their support for the initiative, which is also supported by Washington

The Elysee Palace noted that European officials will gather around a round table and then at a dinner to discuss ways " for the Council of Europe to provide effective assistance to Ukrainians as members of this large European democratic family."

For his part, the French president will shed light on the " unity of Europe around its values," according to people close to him

The Council of Europe expelled Russia in March 2022 as a result of its invasion of Ukraine, but Moscow was preparing to leave the organization anyway

The legal space of the Council of Europe includes the 27 EU countries and about twenty other countries, including Turkey and the United Kingdom

The organization is known for its court known as the European Court of human rights

Despite the apparent unity of the Council of Europe, the organization is not immune from cracks

As for the UK, whose head of government's participation in the summit has remained uncertain for a long time, it constantly criticizes the European Court of human rights, considering it a significant obstacle to enabling it to tighten migration policy

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