Quipping The Western Leader Who Accuses President Putin Of War Criminal, Foreign Minister Lavrov: Ask Your Own Conscience

Menteri Luar Negeri Russia Sergei Lavrov. (Wikimedia Commons/Kremlin.ru/Press Service of the President of the Russian Federation)

JAKARTA - Western leaders should examine their own consciences before accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of war crimes, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

He said Moscow would hold a press conference at a later date to show Western accusations that its soldiers killed civilians in northern Ukraine were false.

US President Joe Biden on Monday accused Putin of war crimes and called for a trial, adding to global condemnation of the killing of civilians in the Ukrainian city of Bucha, as more graphic images of their deaths emerged.

The Kremlin vehemently denies accusations related to the killing of civilians, including in Bucha, where it says graves and bodies have been engineered by Ukraine to desecrate Russia.

Asked at a news conference about President Biden's comments, Foreign Minister Lavrov said the West should first consider its own actions in Iraq and Libya, questioning its conscience.

"Not everything is fine with the conscience of American politicians," he said.

Foreign Minister Lavrov added that the Russian mission to the United Nations on Monday will hold a press conference in New York, with "the most detailed material to show the true nature of the incident in Bucha."

As previously reported, US President Joe Biden accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of war crimes and called for a trial, adding to global condemnation of the killing of civilians in the Ukrainian city of Bucha.

"You saw what happened in Bucha," Biden told reporters after landing in Washington from Delaware, where he was spending the weekend.

"This guarantees him, he is a war criminal," President Biden continued.

"We have to gather information. We have to continue to provide Ukraine with the weapons it needs to continue fighting. And we have to get all the details so that this can become a reality, hold a war crimes trial," President Biden said.

Separately, the Kremlin on Monday denied allegations related to the killing of civilians in Bucha.

"This information should be seriously questioned. From what we have seen, our experts have identified signs of video falsification and other forgeries," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.