More than 40 nations have agreed to set up a system to tally the damage Russia has inflicted on Ukraine in the hope of getting reparations, adding to the international legal challenges the Kremlin is facing.
The register of damages, which will allow Ukrainian victims of war to catalog the harm they have suffered, found a plethora of support among the 46-nation Council of Europe summit in Iceland. In total, 40 member states of the council agreed to join on May 17 or will do so in the future. Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Hungary, and Turkey will not join, at least not initially.
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The European Union, Canada, Japan, and the United States also agreed to participate in the register, the Council of Europe announced at its summit in Reykjavik.
The secretary-general of the council, Marija Pejcinovic Buric, described the decision to create the register as "historic." It is one of the first legally binding instruments to hold Russia accountable for its actions.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal's press office said the declaration adopted by the Council of Europe during a two-day summit also included support for the Ukrainian peace formula and declared readiness among council members to participate in further initiatives to develop the register of damages, including the creation of a compensation commission and a compensation fund.
The declaration also said the Council of Europe members welcomed progress on creating a special tribunal for the leadership of Russia and called on Russia to release Ukrainian civilians, including deported Ukrainian children.
"I want to thank all friends of Ukraine for the effective display of solidarity," Shmyhal said.
Shmyhal said earlier that the "creation of an international register of damage caused to Ukraine by the Russian invaders is the first step towards bringing the aggressor to justice."
It was the first summit of the Council of Europe in 18 years and was intended to show solidarity with Ukraine and to send a signal of unity toward Russia. More than 30 heads of state and government took part.
Russia was excluded from the Council of Europe after it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year. Belarus is suspended and attended the summit only as an observer.