Putin won't congratulate Biden until legal action resolved
Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin won't congratulate President-elect Joe Biden until legal challenges to the US election are resolved and the result is official, the Kremlin announced Monday.
Putin is one of a handful of world leaders who have not commented on Biden's victory, which was called by major news organizations on Saturday. But President Donald Trump's team has promised legal action in the coming days and refused to concede his loss, while alleging large-scale voter fraud, so far without proof.
When Trump won in 2016, Putin was prompt in offering congratulations but Trump's challenger in that election, Hillary Clinton, also conceded the day after the vote.
Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday that this year is different.
Obviously, you can see that certain legal procedures are coming there, which were announced by the incumbent president therefore this situation is different, so we consider it correct to wait for the official announcement, he said.
The leaders of China, Brazil, and Turkey also are holdouts in offering congratulations. And Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador also said he would wait to comment until the legal challenges over the vote were resolved.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on Monday offered a similar explanation of why President Xi Jinping has stayed silent.
We understand the presidential election result will be determined following US laws and procedures, he said.
Peskov suggested that when the time comes, a congratulations message from Putin would come with all the expected protocol.
I remind you that Vladimir Putin said more than once that he will respect any choice of the American people, and will be ready to work with any chosen president of the United States, he said.
For now, Putin's holding back allows a delay in addressing that fraught question of how to improve relations.
Although Russian politicians widely lauded Trump's election in 2016, expecting him to make good on his promises of improving relations, his administration disappointed Moscow by enacting sanctions, expelling scores of Russian diplomats in the wake of the poisoning of double agent Sergei Skripal and authorizing lethal weapons sales to Ukraine.
But Russia is characteristically wary of Democratic US administrations because they tend to be more forward about criticizing Russia on human rights and democracy issues.
Biden, in a 2011 trip to Russia while vice president, epitomized that approach in a speech at Moscow State University, the country's most prestigious higher education institute.
Don't compromise on the basic elements of democracy. You need not make that Faustian bargain," he told students.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
TMC's reign of terror prevails in West Bengal: Rahul
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday strongly condemned the killing of party worker Debdeep Chatterjee allegedly by TMC goons, and said his party will not bow before this politics that stains India's non-violent tradition.
Chatterjee was brutally murdered in Asansol during post-poll violence. He was closely associated with Asansol North Congress candidate Prasenjit Puitandi, the party claimed.
The worker was attacked and beaten by those linked to the ruling All India Trinamool Congress and succumbed to injuries shortly thereafter, the West Bengal Congress alleged.
"The murder of Congress worker Debdeep Chatterjee by TMC-affiliated goons after the elections is utterly reprehensible. My deepest condolences to the grieving family," Gandhi said in a post on X.
"In West Bengal today, it is not democracy but TMC's reign of terror that prevails. Intimidating, attacking, and eliminating opposing voices after votes are cast -this has become the defining character of TMC," Gandhi also said.
He said the Congress' politics has never been based on violence, nor will it ever be.
"We too have lost our workers, yet we have always chosen the path of non-violence and the Constitution. This is our legacy, this is our resolve. "The demand is clear -immediate arrest of all the guilty, the harshest punishment, and grant full security and compensation for Debdeep's family," the former Congress chief said.
"We will not bow before this politics that stains India's non-violent tradition. Justice will be done," Gandhi said.
The West Bengal Congress, in a post on its X handle, said this tragic incident exposes the complete collapse of law and order in the state and raises serious questions about the safety of opposition workers in West Bengal.
"The fact that such violence has occurred immediately after polling highlights a deeply disturbing pattern of political intimidation and vendetta," it said.
The Congress stands firmly with the bereaved family and demands immediate arrest of all those responsible for this heinous crime and a fair, impartial, and time-bound investigation. It also said adequate compensation and protection for the victim's family.
"It is deeply concerning that even an FIR had not been registered at the time of reporting, further indicating administrative apathy in the face of such a grave incident.
"The Indian National Congress reiterates that democracy cannot survive in an atmosphere of fear and violence. We will continue to raise our voice against such atrocities and fight to ensure justice for every victim," the party said.
The Congress said the murder of Chatterjee by goons associated with TMC is highly condemnable and termed it a direct attack on democracy.
"Democracy in West Bengal has ended, and TMC's reign of terror continues. Silencing and subduing opposing voices through violence has become TMC's hallmark. We demand that the culprits be arrested immediately and given the harshest possible punishment. We will not allow the democracy of our country to be destroyed by these anti-people forces," the Congress said.
