Putin - a 'war criminal', says Biden: Russia hits back :::: International Court of Justice asks Russia to end war

New Delhi 

Things are getting complex and murkier in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine War.

A high profile new row was kicked off by US President Joe Biden when he made off the cuff remark stating that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a "war criminal".

Of course the US State Department clarified that was only a remark made by Biden "from his heart" and the legal process for designating someone as a 'war criminal' is certainly long and not done yet.

Gorbachev !!

Putin some years ago !!

However, Kremlin could not take it lying down.

"The President's remarks speak for themselves. He was speaking for his heart," the US State Department spokesperson said. 

"There is a legal process that is on the way...and continues to be at the State Department".

Russia has reacted firmly saying such rhetoric from no less than Biden himself was 'unacceptable and unforgivable'.

In fact, Biden remarked in half a sentence -  "Do you ask me whether I will call him....oh I think, he (Putin) is a war criminal".

Biden’s accusation came after Ukraine’s foreign ministry said that Russian forces dropped a powerful bomb on a theatre in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, leaving many civilians trapped and an unknown number of casualties.

Things remain tense and volatile.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the US president’s statement “unacceptable and unforgivable rhetoric on the part of the head of a state whose bombs have killed hundreds of thousands of people around the world”, according to Russian state news agency TASS.

 Meanwhile, in yet another gory episode 21 people have been killed by Russian artillery that destroyed a school and a community center in Merefa, near the northeast city of Kharkiv. 

Merefa Mayor Veniamin Sitov said the attack occurred just before dawn on Thursday. 

The Kharkiv region has seen heavy bombardment as stalled Russian forces try to advance in the area, reportssay.

There are certain complexities in the entire scenario especially the manner NATO and the western powers have reacted to the war.

"The West has just shown that nuclear threats can be used not as a defensive weapon but as an offensive one; not as a tool of containment that deters great powers from starting wars but as a tool of conquest that deters great powers from interfering in wars," says an article in 'The Kyiv Independent'.

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International Court of Justice asks Russia to end war; a draft deal being planned 

             

New Delhi

On a day the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Russia to stop all military actions in Ukraine, there are reports claiming both the countries in conflict drew up a tentative peace plan to end the ongoing war.

It has been reported that the 15-point draft deal includes a ceasefire and Russian troop withdrawal if 

Ukraine announces its decision to renounce or shun the NATO membership ambitions and "accepts limits on 

its armed forces".

The International Court of Justice on Wednesday asked Moscow to stop all military actions in Ukraine tied 

to its February 24 invasion of the country.

It said Russia should also revoke its 'claim' that Ukrainian citizens had requested Russia’s military support.

In a 13-2 ruling, the court found it had jurisdiction over Ukraine’s allegations that Russia falsely accused 

Ukraine of genocide to justify waging war on the former member of the Soviet Union. 

“The court is profoundly concerned about the use of force by the Russian Federation in Ukraine, which raises 

very serious issues of international law,” ICJ president Joan Donoghue said during the announcement of 

the ICJ decision.

The order could have political consequences for Russia. Ukraine President Vlodomyr Zelensky has said that 

his country gained a complete victory in its case against Russia at the ICJ. 

The ICJ ordered an immediate stop to the invasion. The order is binding under international law. 

Russia must comply immediately. Ignoring the order will isolate Russia even further," Ukraine President said.

However, a section of media experts said the ICJ order will do little to force Russia’s retreat.

Meanwhile, it is being argued that amid all of this, NATO, which is ten times more powerful than Russia, stands aside.

Some say, the western countries are offering 'little more than moral support and token supplies of obsolete weaponry'. 

One article in Ukraine's newspaper 'The Kyiv Independent', says if Russian President Vladimir Putin is 

rational actor, "he will not use nukes". 

But if Putin is not a rational actor, there can be no telling what will provoke him and what will not, the article says.

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New Delhi

He did everything to please Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. He did everything to embarrass the then Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh.

Navjot Singh Sidhu had harboured high ambition to become Punjab Chief Minister.

But people of Punjab knew what was good for the country and how to keep Islamabad-friendlynetas at bay. Hence, Sidhu lost the Amritsar East battle.

While AAP's Jeevan Jyot Kaur polled 39,679 votes, Sidhu as Congress nominee finishedsecond polling 32,929 votes accounting only 30.49 percent of voteshare.

Finally, at the directives of Sonia Gandhi, he has put in his papers.

So clear was the mandate and so much grounded he stands today that Sidhu merelypenned a line in his letter of resignation.

"I hereby resign as president (PPCC)". he wrote.

The resignation came as Sonia Gandhi has asked all five Congress chiefs of recently held statesto tender their resignation.

Capt Amarinder Singh had unhesitatingly called Navjot Singh Sidhu – a pro-Imran Khan. 

Everyone knows the embrace of General Javed Bajwa.

Interesting part is there was later an attempt to explain that the ‘embrace’ was a symbol of mutual 

admiration and expectations about the Kartarpur Corridor.

Now, the Kartarpur Corridor too has a story for Sidhu and Imran Khan. 

In 2019 at a function at Kartarpur complex, Sidhu went on to describe Imran Khan as 'yaar dildar' (very dear friend).

The November 9th, 2019 was slated for the inauguration. Pakistan had presumed to project the day as their ‘tolerance’ day – for the global media.

 

But on D-Day, Nov 9, 2019, the entire media attention in India, in Asia, in Pakistan and also in the rest of the world was on the Ayodhya verdict. 

All these certainly made India’s elections in Punjab in 2022 critical.

In November 2018, when asked about "Captain" (Amarinder Singh) disapproving Sidhu's visit to Pakistan,the former cricket star mocked. "Which Captain?," he asked and later onto add,"Rahul Gandhi is my Captain".

In the run up to the 2022 polls, Capt Amarinder Singh having put on many years in Congress bid farewellto the grand old party.

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