STRASBOURG, France (AFP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday said close ties between Europe and the United States under Donald Trump were key to ensuring Kyiv defeated the Russian invasion, as he urged a trial for President Vladimir Putin.

Zelensky signed an accord with the Council of Europe to set up a special tribunal to try top officials over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as he made his first visit since the start of the conflict to the France-based rights body.

But after a face-to-face meeting with Trump earlier the day at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in The Hague, Zelensky made an impassioned call for close ties between Europe and the US president.

“We need a strong connection with him (Trump),” Zelensky, who had a public spat with the American leader in the Oval Office earlier this year, told the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

“We need unity between Europe and the United States and we will prevail,” Zelensky said, adding: “We need unity in Europe first of all.”

The special tribunal would prosecute the “crime of aggression” in the full-scale invasion, which Russia launched in February 2022, and could, in theory, try senior figures up to Putin.

“We need to show clearly aggression leads to punishment and we must make it happen together, all of Europe,” said Zelensky after signing the accord with Council of Europe secretary general Alain Berset.

“There is still a long way to go. Justice takes time but it must happen,” he added, saying the accord is a “real chance to bring justice for the crime of aggression.”

“It will take strong political and legal courage to make sure every Russian war criminal faces justice, including Putin,” Zelensky said.