Noll points out that Biden’s accusation has no legal ramifications. “If only because the US has not signed the treaty for the establishment of the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Talking about genocide would have more consequences.” Both the US and Russia have signed and ratified the Genocide Convention, which is intended to prevent genocide.
Cat in the corner
Russia expert Hubert Smeets noticed that the Russian state news agency Ria Novosti simply reported Biden’s accusatory words without a response from the Russian authorities. It followed an hour later: the Kremlin spoke of “unacceptable and unforgivable rhetoric”.
That sounds intense, but the impact of Biden’s harsh words in Moscow is probably not that great, Smeets thinks. “It is at most fuel on the fire. Putin has actually already written off the US. What happens on the battlefield, the resistance of the Ukrainian army, is much more important for what happens at the negotiating table.”
But the accusation of the American president is not wise, says the expert of the journalistic platform Raam op Russia. “No. With a statement like that you corner the cat even further.”
Putin is becoming increasingly radical in his speeches on Russian state television. Yesterday, the Russian president spoke of “traitors and criminals” who would help the West, adding that the Russian people should “spit them out like mosquitoes”.
distrust
Smeets knows to what extent Putin has really become more radical. “We don’t know what’s going on with him. He stays in his country house. We don’t know who has access to him and how he is. But this will only strengthen his mistrust in the West.”
At the same time, Putin will not care too much about Biden’s words. “If the German Chancellor Scholz said this, he would find it more annoying. Russia still gets a large part of its gross national product from Europe.”
The Ukrainian defense minister has called on the EU to label the Russian leader as a war criminal, like Biden. That hasn’t happened until now. “European leaders are more reserved, at least until now.”
Jörg Noll sees that too. “European leaders know that they can still be important in the conflict. Macron and Scholz were on the phone with Putin last weekend. They can still play a role in getting out of this.”
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