State Duma deputy from the Crimea Ruslan Balbek considers a lawsuit against Russia unpromising for Ukraine. So he commented on the statements of the Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Elena Zerkal that Moscow supposedly must prove to international courts that it was not involved in the financing of terrorism.

According to Balbek, Ukrainian politicians should have focused their efforts on raising the country's economy or negotiating a settlement in the Donbass, and not on the “bombing” of international courts.

“Today, Ukraine demonstrates a master class on the futility of lawsuits against Russia. Without a doubt, this bright, effective, but absolutely useless legal gesture of Ukraine will be buried in international courts, but it attracted the attention of the press, and it turns out that official Kiev is again on the wave of media, ”the parliamentarian said.

According to him, the Ukrainian side is unlikely to wait for any apology, excuse or compensation from Moscow, but "hope dies last."

“However, I’m sure that Ukrainian officials themselves do not believe in the effectiveness of their lawsuits, but apparently hope under this“ hype ”to ask the West for money for legal costs,” Balbek explained in an interview with RT.

According to State Duma deputy from Sevastopol Dmitry Belik, the statement of the Mirror can be considered as part of the information campaign to discredit Russia.

"Like," fighting in the Donbass, infringing on the rights of the Crimean peoples, and in general it is a totalitarian state. " At the same time, official Kiev needs what is called “recognition of America”, because if this information campaign is successful, then new sanctions may be introduced against Russia, and Kiev will consider this option as its victory, ”he said in a conversation with RT .

Earlier, Deputy Elena Zerkal announced Russia's obligation to “provide evidence” that its officials did not participate in the financing of terrorism.

“Russia must now justify itself and prove how exactly it prevented and prevented the financing of terrorism by its officials,” she said.

  • Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Elena Zerkal
  • Reuters
  • © Eva Plevier

Recall, Ukraine filed a lawsuit against Russia in January 2017. Kiev alleged a violation by Moscow of the 1999 International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism (ICFTU) and the 1965 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD). The first charge alleges support for the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics, representatives of these territories are equated by the Ukrainian side with terrorists. The second refers to alleged ethnic discrimination of the population of Crimea, primarily Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians.

On November 8, the Hague Tribunal recognized its jurisdiction in the proceedings between Ukraine and Russia, rejecting some of Moscow’s preliminary objections and allowing Kiev, as the Russian Foreign Ministry noted, “to transfer the ICFTU-related dispute to the merits”.

Mirror called the decision of the Hague court “victory” of Ukrainian diplomacy in the field of international law and diplomacy, where Russia always excelled. Mirror emphasized that the final verdict of the UN International Court of Justice should be expected no earlier than 2022-2023.

“We ask the court, firstly, to establish the fact of violation. Secondly, to stop the violation, and thirdly, to compensate for all losses associated with this violation, ”TASS quoted her.

The position of the Hague Tribunal at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation was described as “difficult to explain”, since in April 2017, when the interim decision was announced, the International Court of Justice of the United Nations stated that Ukraine did not provide the necessary evidence to recognize Russia involved in the financing of terrorism.

In addition, the court did not accept Russia's jurisdictional objections to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

“In particular, I did not agree that before seeking protection in the International Court of Justice, the plaintiff state must first contact the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, specially created under the auspices of the ICERD, to oversee compliance with this convention and respond to its violations . Ukraine has not done this, ”the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

At the same time, Russian diplomats indicated that the outcome of the case has not yet been decided, since Russia must submit its counterarguments on the merits of the dispute before December 8, 2020.

“The Russian Federation expects that at the stage of the consideration of the dispute on the merits, the UN International Court will fully take into account the position of Russia and ultimately will leave all Ukrainian claims unsatisfied,” the Foreign Ministry noted.