Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, India has abstained on every United Nations vote condemning Moscow’s actions until this week, when it voted to condemn Russia at the International Court of Justice.
Dalveer Bhandari, a former Indian Supreme Court judge and one of the 15 judges on the ICJ – the UN’s highest court – joined the majority to call on Russia to stop its military operations in Ukraine.
The ICJ on Wednesday ordered Russia to suspend its military operations in Ukraine, saying it was "profoundly concerned" by Moscow's use of force.
Ukraine, which has previously brought a case to the ICJ against Russia, introduced this case shortly after Russia took action on 24 February.
Ukraine argued that Moscow was falsely alleging genocide in Ukraine's Donetsk and Lugansk regions to justify its attack.
The court's response condemning Russia was approved by 13 votes to 2, with the Russian and Chinese judges voting against it.
In his second term at the ICJ, Bhandari went against the Indian government’s approach of abstaining when it comes to UN votes on Russia, including votes at the Security Council, the General Assembly, the Human Rights Council and at the International Atomic Energy Agency.
"India's position was spelt out clearly after the first UN Security Council resolution, where we abstained," former diplomat Deepa Wadhwa told RFI.
India has historical and strategic ties with Russia, and a core tenet of its foreign policy has been the desire to maintain good, stable relations with all major powers, including Russia.
Although the ICJ’s rulings are binding, the court has no direct means of enforcing them, and countries have rarely ignored them.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the ruling as “a complete victory” in its case against Russia.
(with AFP)
