Russia recalls envoy after Joe Biden says 'killer' Putin will 'pay the price'
Moscow, Mar 18: Russia is recalling its ambassador to the United States for consultations, the foreign ministry said Wednesday without citing a specific reason.
The move to bring Anatoly Antonov to Moscow comes amid rising tensions with President Joe Biden's administration, which has imposed sanctions over the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is now in prison.
It also comes on the heels of a declassified report from the US national intelligence director's office that finds President Vladimir Putin authorized influence operations to help Donald Trump in last November's presidential election.
In a television interview aired on Wednesday, Biden was asked whether he thought Putin is a killer and said I do.
(Putin) will pay a price, Biden said, asked about the declassified report.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova did not cite specific reasons for Antonov's return but said that relations are in a difficult state, which Washington has brought to a dead end in recent years."
"We are interested in preventing their irreversible degradation, if the Americans are aware of the associated risks, she added.
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BJP workers allegedly attack children during Christmas carol roadshow in Kerala’s Palakkad: Reports
Palakkad: A group of children celebrating Christmas through a carol roadshow was allegedly attacked by BJP workers in Kerala’s Palakkad district on Sunday night.
According to local reports, the incident occurred in Pudussery area of Palakkad, where over 25 children, mostly aged around 13, were moving from house to house singing Christmas carols. Reports state that a BJP worker identified as Ashwin Raj, along with others, allegedly assaulted the children and vandalised their musical equipment.
According to the police and eyewitness accounts, the children were using a band set that belonged to a local CPI(M) office, which had the party’s name written on it.
Allegedly objecting to this, the accused and his associates reportedly lured the children on the pretext of offering them money and then assaulted them. The band set used by the children was also smashed.
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The Town Police have arrested Ashwin Raj, a local BJP worker who has been named as the prime accused in the case. Efforts are underway to trace and arrest the remaining accused who fled the scene.
Speaking to the media, one of the injured children said, “We were using the band just for fun. When they saw that it had CPM written on it, they took us aside and beat us.”
"We had given the band set that was in our office out of love when the children asked for it. The fact that these young children, who do not know the intricacies of politics, were attacked shows the criminal mentality of the BJP workers," local CPIM leaders expressed outrage.
A police officer told PTI that the arrested accused is already booked under the Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act (KAAPA).
The sections invoked include Section 192 (provocation with intent to cause a riot), Section 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), and Section 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), police added.
