UPDATE - ICJ largely rejects Ukraine's claims in terror finance case against Russia

ADDS COMMENTS FROM RUSSIA

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - The International Court of Justice (ICJ) rejected on Wednesday almost all of Ukraine's claims on Russia violating the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism (ICSFT).

Russia has not fulfilled its obligations only on one provision of the convention, said ICJ President Joan Donoghue while reading out the decision in The Hague.

"Russia failed to fulfill its obligations to conduct investigations against individuals who allegedly could finance terrorism in Ukraine," she said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said it met "with bewilderment" the court's conclusion that Russia allegedly did not properly investigate the activities of individuals who, according to Ukraine, collected funds in Russia to help the people of Donbass in two episodes.

It pointed out that the court stated "the complete absence of signs of both 'terrorism' and its 'financing.'"

"The International Court of Justice did not follow Kyiv's lead and refused on principle to recognize Russia as an 'aggressor state.' The court also rejected Ukrainian insinuations that the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic are allegedly 'terrorist organizations,'" it said.

The ICJ conclusions are of "particular importance" in light of Kyiv's plans to back up its claims for Russia's frozen assets with the verdict of the court, it said.

Most of Ukraine's claims under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CEAFRD) were also found ungrounded.

"The Court rejects all other claims of Ukraine in relation to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination," the order read.

It, however, added that Russia, by the way in which it has implemented its educational system in Crimea after 2014 with regard to school education in the Ukrainian language, has violated its obligations under Articles 2 and 5 of the convention.

The ministry separately said the ICJ ruled by a majority vote that a sharp reduction in the number of schools with education in the Ukrainian language "constituted a violation of obligations under the convention."

"This is a rather controversial judgment, especially if we take into account the Court's conclusion that the choice of Crimeans to study in Russian was purely voluntary. Did the Russian authorities have to forcibly drag children into Ukrainian schools? One way or another, everyone will continue to be given the opportunity to study in the Ukrainian language," it said.

The ministry emphasized that except for this, all of the main Ukraine's claims were dismissed.

"The case has been completed, no special actions are required from Russia as part of the implementation of this decision, and all compensation claims from Ukraine have been rejected," it said.

Ukraine sued Russia for violating both conventions in 2017, and labeled breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk "terrorist organizations financed by Russia."

Kyiv also insisted that Russia was allegedly conducting a targeted campaign of racial discrimination against Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians in Crimea.