First chief prosecutor of the Hague-based UN tribunal for the war crimes in former Yugoslavia Richard Goldstone spoke exclusively from Cape Town to N1 on the occasion of the final verdict for former Serbian security officials Jovica Stanisic and Franko Simatovic, who were sentenced to 15 years in prison each for war crimes in Bosnia and Croatia during the 1990 wars, in the longest process before the tribunal.

At the end of this interview, he was asked about war crimes committed in Ukraine and if he expected Vladimir Putin to face justice that. Goldstone had a very interesting message for Putin but also drew a comparison between Mr. Putin and Mr. Slobodan Milosevic, former and late President of Serbia and Yugoslavia who was tried at the ICTY.

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“Well, let me start by saying that the crimes with which Vladimir Putin and a senior official in his government, have been charged are very serious crimes,” he noted.

“Crimes of deportation and the transfer of innocent young children. It's a crime that should horrify any decent person,” added Goldstone.

Having said that, he continued, “Putin is not going to stand trial as long as he's the head of state, as long as he's the President of Russia, he will be protected.”

But, he added, the last thing on his mind is probably that he will ever end up standing trial in the ICC in The Hague.

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“But, you know, Milosevic was of the same frame of mind. If you would have asked Milosevic in 94 or 90, 95 whether he thought he would end up on trial, he would have laughed at the prospect. Little did he think that there'd be a revolution, that there'd be a change of government, and that his successor would put him on an airplane and send him for trial in The Hague. So one doesn't know what happens in the future. I certainly wouldn't like to be in the position of Mr. Putin, and hanging over my head would, uh, be an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court.”