“To ‘protect Russians’: Russia has decided to take the Baltic states’ stance to the UN court”
25 May 10:21
Russia intends to appeal to the International Court of Justice to “protect” the rights of Russians in the Baltic states, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. The ministry claims that the authorities in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia “ban” the use of the Russian language, “rewrite history,” and engage in a “punitive policy of repression and intimidation.” This is reported by "Komersant Ukrainian", citing Russian propaganda media.
“All attempts to resolve the differences through negotiations have been fruitless. In this regard, we will obviously have to take our claims to court by appealing to the UN’s highest judicial body—the International Court of Justice,” said a Foreign Ministry representative.
At the same time, Moscow has already appealed to international institutions on this issue. In particular, complaints from the Russian side were received by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities.
“The Ministry is conducting systematic work across all possible UN human rights platforms,” the Foreign Ministry emphasized.
Former UN Deputy Secretary-General Sergei Ordzhonikidze called Russia’s appeal to the court a political move.
“It is difficult to predict when the case will come up for consideration and how it will be considered. For the first time in the history of the International Court of Justice, there is no judge from our country on the bench,” the expert noted, adding that the court proceedings could last “years.”
The UN International Court of Justice adjudicates disputes between states in accordance with international law and issues advisory opinions. Its jurisdiction is non-binding. Furthermore, the court lacks the means to directly enforce its rulings. Following the outbreak of full-scale war in Ukraine, the Baltic states restricted entry for Russians and began dismantling Soviet monuments. Against this backdrop, the Russian Foreign Ministry accused the leadership of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia of “Russophobia,” while the ministry’s official spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, accused the U.S. and the EU of encouraging the “anti-Russian campaign of the Baltic states.”
Earlier, the State Duma and the Federation Council passed a law that significantly expanded dictator Vladimir Putin’s powers regarding the use of armed forces abroad. Specifically, it allows the president to deploy the army to “protect Russian citizens” in the event of “their arrest, detention, criminal or other persecution” abroad.
The expansion of Putin’s powers came after a series of warnings from NATO countries that the Kremlin is preparing for war with one or more European countries. For example, the head of Germany’s BND intelligence agency spoke of the risk of Russian provocation in the Baltic states following a scenario similar to the annexation of Crimea. In February of this year, Danish intelligence stated that Russia is capable of launching a large-scale war in Europe within five years.
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