Page 6 - aruba-today-20231220

A6 WORLD NEWS
Wednesday 20 december 2023

A man claiming to be a former Russian officer wants to give

evidence to the ICC about Ukraine crimes

By MIKE CORDER office is unable to confirm
Associated Press or deny whether an indi-
THE HAGUE, Netherlands vidual is being engaged
(AP) — A Russian claiming with as a potential witness
to be a former officer with or in any other capacity,”
the Wagner Group has ar- the prosecution statement
rived in the Netherlands said.
and says he wants to pro- Salikov also claims to have
vide evidence to the In- information about the
ternational Criminal Court, downing of Malaysia Air-
which is investigating atroc- lines flight MH17 in 2014.
ities in the war in Ukraine. All 298 passengers and
Dutch news program Een- crew were killed when the
Vandaag reported Mon- plane was shot down over
day that Igor Salikov had eastern Ukraine on July
flown into the Netherlands. 17, 2014, by a Russian mis-
The news show spoke to sile system known as a Buk
him via a videolink. He is TELAR. A Dutch court con-
believed to have applied victed two Russians and
for asylum and could not a pro-Moscow Ukrainian
be reached for comment rebel in November 2022 for
Tuesday. their roles in downing the
Salikov said he was in east- Amsterdam-Kuala Lumpur
ern Ukraine in 2014 when A view of the exterior view of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, on flight.
conflict erupted there, and March 31, 2021. In February, the multina-
in 2022 when Russia invad- Associated Press tional Joint Investigation
ed its neighbor. Team said it had uncov-
“I know where the orders in Moscow’s invasion of gust. In a written response, the ered “strong indications”
came from,” he told Een- Ukraine, spearheading the The ICC issued an inter- court’s prosecution of- that Putin approved the
Vandaag. His claims could battle for the eastern city national arrest warrant in fice confirmed it received supply of heavy anti-air-
not be independently veri- of Bakhmut that was cap- March for Russian President a written communication craft weapons to Ukrainian
fied. tured by Russian forces in Vladimir Putin, alleging from Salikov but did not say separatists who shot down
The Wagner Group, a mili- May. that he was responsible for whether investigators were the plane.
tary contractor created by Prigozhin, who staged a the abduction of children talking with him. However, the team said
Russian businessman Yevg- brief mutiny in June when from Ukraine. Information “In line with the confiden- it had insufficient evi-
eny Prigozhin, deployed he sent Wagner mercenar- about the Russian chain of tiality of its activities, the dence to prosecute Putin
to eastern Ukraine when a ies to march on Moscow command could be cru- office is unable to provide or any other suspects, and
Moscow-backed separat- demanding the ouster of cial in building more cases any further information with it suspended its 8½-year
ist rebellion erupted there top military leaders, was against senior Russians in- respect to ongoing inves- inquiry.q
in 2014. It also took part killed in an air crash in Au- volved in the war. tigations. In particular, the

West accuses Iran of illegally testing missiles, transferring drones to

Russia, enriching uranium

By EDITH M. LEDERER The Western powers in the on Monday of developing atomic weapons. Under current standoff.
Associated Press 2015 nuclear agreement and testing ballistic mis- the accord, Tehran agreed Iravani said Iran is allowed
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — with Iran accused Tehran siles, transferring hundreds to limit enrichment of ura- to enrich uranium for
of drones to Russia, and nium to levels necessary for peaceful purposes under
enriching uranium to an un- the peaceful use of nuclear the Nuclear Nonprolifera-
precedented 60% level for power in exchange for the tion Treaty, and Nebenzia
a country without a nucle- lifting of economic sanc- rejected alleged evidence
ar weapons program all in tions. that it was using Iranian
violation of a U.N. resolution The sharp exchanges drones in Ukraine.
endorsing the deal. came at the Security Coun- Then-President Donald
Iran and its ally, Russia, dis- cil’s semi-annual meeting Trump said when unilateral-
missed the charges by Brit- on the implementation of ly pulling out of the accord
ain, France and Germany, its resolution endorsing the in 2018 that he would ne-
strongly supported by the 2015 nuclear deal. gotiate a stronger deal, but
United States, which pulled Both Iran’s U.N. Ambas- that didn’t happen. Iran
out of the agreement sador Amir Iravani and began breaking the terms
known as the Joint Com- Russia’s U.N. Ambassador a year later and its 60% en-
prehensive Plan of Action Vassily Nebenzia blamed richment is near weapons-
in 2018. the United States’ with- grade levels, according to
The sun sets behind the Palais Coburg, where closed-door The six-party agreement drawal from the JCPOA, the International Atomic
nuclear talks on the revival of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of was aimed at ensuring that Western sanctions and an Energy Agency, the U.N.
Action (JCPOA) take place, in Vienna, Austria, on Aug. 5, 2022.
Associated Press Iran could not develop “anti-Iran” stance for the nuclear watchdog.q