"Today, we are witnessing the collapse of the world system. Ukraine and the Middle East are just the beginning. The United States, as a major nuclear power, is engaging in a completely cynical game — sometimes playing along, sometimes exerting pressure, as if it can do a little more than others. ... China will gather strength and also start taking what is not secure. And then India. And this world will fall into the abyss," said Ihor Liski.
Then all small states will be under threat, added the businessman.
"But for me, the creation of this tribunal is a ray of hope that there is a territory of common sense, a territory of adults, people who still remember the First and Second World Wars. Those millions of victims. Where there is an understanding that countries need to think two generations ahead. The territory of Europe is a place of gravity with international rules of the game. And that gives great hope. If small countries do not begin to join these healthy processes, they have no chance of survival, they will disappear," says Ihor Liski.
And so it happened that Ukraine plays a key, subjective role in this, he adds.
‘Ukraine has always been like a kindergarten, where we were constantly lectured: you don't have this, you don't know how to do that, you steal here, you have corruption there, you are not mature enough. But through pain, through this history, we can have the moral right to determine the future of the civilised world,’ the businessman noted.
According to Ihor Liski, a special tribunal on crimes of aggression against Ukraine is important in several respects:
Legitimisation of our actions and our rightness. Usually, the winner determines who is right and who is guilty, but even if Russia is not defeated, the businessman believes that the tribunal will confirm our historical right, confirm that we are the victim and Russia is the aggressor.
Recording and legal proof of crimes. "All crimes will be described, substantiated, with evidence, in strict legal form. Right now, we cannot even imagine how important this is. It is important for future generations, especially given how powerful the enemy's propaganda is. Only now, bit by bit, are we beginning to understand our history, which was destroyed. Starting in the 1917s, sometimes even earlier. Destroyed along with the archives, with people, with entire families, and their stories rewritten," Lisky noted.
Openness to international justice. "We are not afraid to tell the truth, we are not afraid of international jurisdiction. Can you imagine Russia giving up the right to say anything about Russia abroad? That's nonsense. Because without the control of their courts, the truth that may come out will simply destroy the foundation of this state," the businessman noted.
Faith in justice. According to Liski, it is very important to hope and believe during the struggle. He expressed confidence that we will live to see the day when we see the criminals in the dock — ‘perhaps old and infirm, but they will betray their accomplices and tell how they were forced, and how they knew nothing and were afraid.’
A vaccine against nationalist, revanchist, and fascist movements. "They have not disappeared from Europe. Evil, which begins as a national idea or “we can do it again”, or that any nation is superior, or that our “tanks are the fastest”, exists in every country.
But this fair, transparent, open, international process will be a vaccine for these European movements. ... It will be much more difficult for European politicians who want to hype up the idea of some kind of otherness or cozying up to Putin to do so," Liski said.
‘...I want to see how Orbán will greet Putin when he is recognised as an international criminal, at least in European status,’ he added.
Establishing moral guidelines. In this era of post-truth and artificial intelligence, the businessman believes it is very difficult to rely on verified data. The work of the tribunal will provide clarity in assessing events.
"The answer to the question of whether Putin is a criminal or not depends on the language used to ask the question. But when the international tribunal reaches its conclusion, it will be the basis, Wikipedia. This will lay the foundation for justice and moral guidelines, which are very important for the existence of Europe as a territory of freedom and law, and for Ukraine, which is now a subject in building this for the whole world," Ihor Liski emphasised.