The United States is likely taking new steps in favor of Putin. As reported by The New York Times, the United States will withdraw from the international group investigating the crime of aggression against Ukraine. The Trump administration is also winding down the activities of the War Crimes Analysis Group, created in 2022 to hold Russians accountable. What is behind these steps of the American president and what the consequences may be for Ukraine, explained to Apostrophe by Oleksandr Merezhko, the chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Foreign Policy and Interparliamentary Cooperation.
The US Department of Justice has informed European officials that the United States is withdrawing from the International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine (ICPA), The New York Times reported, citing its own sources.
According to the publication's sources, the decision is expected to be officially announced today, March 17, in an email to staff and members of the EU Criminal Justice Agency (Eurojust), on the basis of which the ICPA began its work.
It is worth recalling that the United States joined this group in 2023. This initiative was created to hold the Russian leadership, along with co-aggressors Belarus, North Korea, and Iran, accountable for the war against Ukraine.
As part of this project, the US even sent a senior Justice Department prosecutor to The Hague to work with investigators from Ukraine, the Baltic countries, and Romania.
In addition, the Donald Trump administration also announced that it was reducing the work of the War Crimes Analysis Group, created in 2022 by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland. This group was supposed to coordinate the Justice Department's efforts to hold Russians accountable for war crimes committed in Ukraine.
Sources from The New York Times note that Washington did not report the reasons for leaving the investigative team.
People's Deputy Oleksandr Merezhko believes that we should not panic about this.
"This is part of Trump's peace plan. In this way, he demonstrates to Putin that he is not a pro-Ukrainian politician, he shows that he is not on the side of Ukraine. Trump shows that he is equidistant from both Ukraine and Russia. In this way, according to the American president, one can build trust and achieve some result. Remember, when he was asked: "Are you a son of Russia?", he answered: "I am an ally of the world," Merezhko explains in a conversation with "Apostrophe."
According to the chairman of the Council's Foreign Policy Committee, the Americans are conducting negotiations in the "shuttle diplomacy" format (shuttle diplomacy - "Apostrophe").
"Again, to be a shuttle diplomat, you need to have trust on both sides, and that's why the Americans are leaving those structures that, in Putin's eyes, are directed against Russia. That is, this is a purely diplomatic and political step, " says the MP. "But this does not mean that the Americans are taking the side of Russia, absolutely not. We should not be surprised by this. Trump's task, which he sets for himself, is to end the war as soon as possible."
Moreover, Oleksandr Merezhko sees positive things for Ukraine in these steps by Trump.
"I see the positive in the fact that we, on our part, did what Trump expected. We agreed to a ceasefire. But the Russians did not do this. Putin began to put forward additional conditions, which contain his ultimatums and which are actually a refusal. But politically we are not in a bad situation. No," Merezhko notes.
According to the parliamentarian, Putin cannot say that the Americans are pro-Ukrainian and pushing a pro-Ukrainian agenda: "You see, Trump forbade his team from using terms like 'Russia is an aggressor.' And this is all connected with his plan. He is an honest broker. This is a business concept, he looks at things in business categories."
"That is, we don't need to be scared and panic that the Americans are leaving these organizations," Oleksandr Merezhko reassures.
As the People's Deputy notes, the ball is no longer in Putin's court, we heard him say, the ball is now in Trump's court.
"Everything will depend on tomorrow's phone conversation between Trump and Putin, which has already been announced in the White House. I think that Putin, as always, will start manipulating, will lie, and will say in a veiled way that he is "in favor", but America and Ukraine must fulfill his ultimatum, which will allow him to destroy Ukraine later. Trump understands this very well. And here it is important for us what Trump's actions will be, not even his words," the expert summed up.
