Russia says it will ‘not take into account’ ICJ order to end Ukraine invasion

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Says negotiations will continue today and calls Biden’s statements about Putin “unforgivable”

MADRID, March 17. (EUROPE PRESS) –

The Kremlin has stated this Thursday that “it will not take into account” the order of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to stop its military offensive against Ukraine, which began on February 24 by order of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“In this case, it is something that we cannot take into account,” said Kremlin spokesman Dimitri Peskov. “The ICJ has something about the consent of the parties. There can be no agreement on it,” he argued, according to the Russian Interfax news agency.

The Ukrainian government had brought the case before the ICJ on the grounds that Russia could not claim that genocide was taking place in Ukraine. kyiv accused Moscow of violating the Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide (1948), ratified by both countries.

The Ukrainian authorities therefore requested the adoption of precautionary measures “to avoid irreparable damage to the rights of Ukraine and its people and to avoid aggravating the dispute between the parties”, a request that the ICJ has responded to, summoning Moscow to end the offensive .

The ICJ has explained that these are “provisional measures”, that is, that it will continue to study the case in depth before issuing a possible conviction, but it has stated that Russia must end its operations. The message is also extended to all those related groups, “directed or supported” from Moscow, in a veiled allusion to the separatist rebels operating in eastern Ukraine.

On the other hand, Peskov has indicated that the contacts between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations will continue this Thursday through videoconference. “I don’t know if they are already running or not, but they should be activated today,” he said, as reported by the TASS news agency.

“Our delegation, headed by (presidential adviser Vladimir) Medinski, with the participation of relevant experts and departments, is ready to work against the clock and demonstrates its readiness. Unfortunately, we do not see similar interest from Ukraine,” he said.

Peskov has also said that Russia does not agree to compare the offensive against Ukraine with the events of World War II. “It’s different, we’re talking about different things,” he stressed.

Finally, he has called the statements of the president of the United States, Joe Biden, about Putin, whom he described as “a war criminal”, “inexcusable”. “Biden’s claims are absolutely unacceptable,” he pointed out, before stressing that the United States “has bombed people for years.”

“They dropped an atomic bomb against a country that had already been defeated, which makes no sense. I am referring to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The president of such a country has no right to say those words. It is our deep conviction,” he concluded. .