Kurt Volker, the former United States ambassador to NATO and one-time member of the Trump White House, doesn't envision Russia being overly cooperative with Geneva Convention officials anytime soon, regarding the Russians' alleged conduct in their six-month war with Ukraine.
"I don't think so," Volker pointedly told Newsmax Wednesday evening, while appearing on "The Record With Greta Van Susteren."
In a nutshell, the Geneva Convention involves four globally recognized treaties and three additional protocols that comprise the international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war.
It extensively covers the basic rights of wartime prisoners (civilians and military personnel), established protections for the wounded and sick, and offers protections for the civilians in and around a war zone.
Also, the Geneva Convention document defines the rights and protections afforded to non-combatants.
Over the last few months, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin have had to deal with accusations of the Russians intentionally bombing Ukrainian hospitals, featuring mostly civilians.
However, for these allegations to have substance during an international war-crime trial, Volker says two things need to happen in the interim:
1) NATO powers must ensure that Ukraine wins its war, and that Russia is soundly defeated.
2) Investigators must keep collecting "physical evidence ... while the evidence is still fresh," says Volker.
By doing that, Volker speculates there would be sufficient evidence for a "proper war crimes trial" against Russia.
According to Volker, NATO investigators have been stealthily collecting wartime evidence on Ukraine's behalf for months. This includes the crucial interception of chain-of-command communications between the Russian government and military personnel — "anything that indicates responsibility."
Later in the interview, Van Susteren pressed Volker on rumors of Russia conducting its own wartime trials against Ukraine and supporting nations — as a pre-emptive move to foster global empathy.
The show trial "would be aimed at a Russian domestic audience," says Volker. "The Russian people [consuming news reports] are beginning to realize this is an actual war, and that it's not going well.
"There have been a lot of Russian casualties. So, staging a show trial like that — in terms of labeling the Ukraine [people] as 'terrorists' — continues to provide a domestic justification for continuing the war, and I think that's what Putin has in mind," says Volker.
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