Russia-Ukraine war: US, France pledge to hold Russia accountable

The leaders of the United States and France have pledged to hold Russia accountable as the war it wages on Ukraine is in its tenth month. The European Union has also tentatively agreed on an oil price cap in order to further reduce the money available for Russia’s war efforts.

Following joint talks on Thursday, US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron issued a joint statement saying that they will hold Russia accountable for its actions on Ukraine.

Biden told reporters that he was willing to talk to Russian leader Vladimir Putin should he be interested in ending the war but added that Putin had not shown any sign. Macron also said he would continue to speak with Putin to prevent any further escalation from taking place on the ground in Ukraine.

The two leaders stressed “their steadfast resolve to hold Russia to account for widely documented atrocities and war crimes, committed both by its regular armed forces and by its proxies, including mercenary entities such as Vagner and others, through support for international accountability mechanisms, including the International Criminal Court, the Ukrainian prosecutor general, UN Human Rights Council Commission on Inquiry, and the OSCE Moscow Mechanism, sanctions, and other means,” according to the statement.

Biden said that the US and France are “facing down” Putin’s “grasping ambition for conquest” and defending democratic values and human rights.

The European Union also tentatively agreed on a $60 oil price cap per barrel on Russian seaborne oil, according to diplomats. The measure would need the approval of all EU governments in a written procedure on Friday.

There have been no political talks taking place to end the war, which Russia calls a “special military operation.” Ukraine and the West have called Russia’s invasion an imperialist land grab that has killed thousands of civilians and soldiers on both sides. Macron said that they would never urge Ukraine to compromise in the war.

On the same day, the Russian defense ministry and the Ukrainian presidential administration chief announced a prisoner swap of 50 personnel in the latest exchange between the two sides. Andriy Yermak, the chief of the Ukrainian presidential administration, said that prisoner exchanges will continue “until the liberation of the last Ukrainian.”