VILNIUS, Lithuania – Russia continues to manipulate international institutions, receiving little to no rebuff, and that’s not likely to change any time soon.
That was the pessimistic consensus view of delegates to the 6th Free Russia Forum, held on Dec. 7-8 in Vilnius, capital of the Baltic state of Lithuania, which gathered together Russian intellectuals to talk about the fate of their country.
The forum, an open discussion club held twice a year, attracts politicians, journalists and activists from both Ukraine and Russia for two days of talks about regional issues. The latest conference focused its attention on Russia’s attempt to manipulate international institutions, the possibility of a full-scale war with Ukraine after Russia’s attack near the Kerch Strait, the effect of sanctions on the Russian economy, and the weak international response on Russia’s aggressive foreign policy.
Interpol
Unease over Russia’s influence on international organizations reemerged in late November, when a Russian former FSB officer, Alexander Prokopchuk, was favorite to become the new president of Interpol, a global agency for cooperation between police forces in 194 countries.
Even though, Prokopchuk lost the election, he was appointed the vice president of the organization, and Russian influence in Interpol remains high. Prokopchuk is widely seen as being behind Russia’s attempts to persecute opponents of the current Russian regime who live abroad by issuing “Red Notice” arrest warrants against them.
During the forum, Marina Litvinenko, a human rights activist and the widow of Aleksandr Litvinenko, a naturalized British citizen that the UK authorities say was murdered in London by Russian intelligence in 2006, talked about the methods that Russia uses to twist the global justice system and how Interpol became a Russian tool to crack down on opposition to the Kremlin.
The organization which is neutral on paper, acknowledges Russian warrants as equal to those of other countries and takes as a given the integrity of Russian courts. According to Litvinenko, the country uses this fact to serve warrants on political opponents.
“The number of Red Notices issued rose from 1,387 in 2003, to 12,778 in 2016,” Litvinenko said.
While Red Notice warrants, which are an extradition request issued by Interpol itself, based on information provided by the issuing country, are usually double-checked by the organization, Diffusion warrants, which are given out by member states directly to other members, remain under the radar and pose a serious threat to those who are opposing the current Russian regime, says Litvinenko.
Ilya Ponomarev, a former Russian member of parliament who voted against the annexation of Crimea, is one of those placed on a Red Notice list by Russia.
“Once you are on the wanted list, it’s very hard to get yourself off it,” Ponomarev said at the forum. “The only way to be safe from Russian harassment through Interpol is to prove beforehand that your case is politically motivated.”
Litvinenko added that “the abuse of international law and the misuse of international institutions for personal gain is a crucial part of Russia’s hybrid war against the West.” On Dec. 10, Interpol placed on its wanted list Stefan Kapinos, a 20 year-old Ukrainian citizen, whom Russian prosecutors claim is an associate of Pavlo Hryb, a Ukrainian national who is under trial in Russia for “terrorism.”
Mark Feygin, a famous Russian lawyer who moderated the panel on the given topic, said international institutions should do a better job on checking information provided by the Russian authorities, or go as far as to take away Russia’s right to issue international warrants.
Weak response
While speakers of the forum agreed that Russia is testing the West, challenging both the integrity of international institutions and democratic principles, the Western response has been disappointing so far.
Garry Kasparov, the former chess grandmaster and a leader of the Russian opposition, warned that this weak response only emboldens the Russian leader.
“(Russian President Vladimir) Putin feels that he can be aggressive and bold because of the impunity he has received,” Kasparov said at the forum.
Boris Reitschuster, a German journalist, went even further, stating that the European Union was effectively aiding Russian aggression by financing Russian projects, such as the Nord Stream 2 undersea gas pipeline project, which will pipe gas directly to Germany under the Baltic Sea, bypassing Ukraine.
“(If you ask) Germans, they don’t want to die for Lithuanians,” Reitschuster added, saying that Europe is choosing the path of the least resistance.
However, Kasparov feels that the West is waking up.
“They were eager to give Putin what he wants, yet he wants to destroy the current world order and (the West) can’t let that happen,” Kasparov said.
