The visit to India by Sergey Aksyonov, Head of the Republic of Crimea, accompanying Russian President Vladimir Putin has raised the hackles in the West with the US saying it was 'troubled' by the news and an angry Ukrainian President decrying it.
In response to a question about whether US citizens should be concerned about a nuclear war breaking out, Biden said "no."
Continuing to maintain silence on granting a visa to Bharatiya Janata Party leader Narendra Modi, United States has said the heads of state and government are eligible for A1 visas and no individual automatically qualifies for an American visa.
The remarks of White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki came ahead of the 14th round of military-level talks between India and China on the 20-month row in eastern Ladakh.
The United States has hoped its National Security Agency surveillance on the Bharatiya Janata Party, revelation of which has highly been objected by New Delhi, would not have an adverse impact on the bilateral relationship between the two countries.
The United States has termed the referendum being planned in eastern Ukraine as "illegal", warning Russia of imposing greater costs on Moscow if it continues to destabilise its neighbouring country.
Meanwhile, the US refrained from making any comment on the move to set up the development bank aimed at reshaping the international financial system dominated by the West, saying that the details are yet to emerge.
It is learnt that Lavrov is expected to travel to India either on Thursday or Friday after concluding a two-day visit to China.
A senior White House official has said that she cannot 'predict' when President Joe Biden would make a call to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan though there has been high-level engagements between the two countries.
The US vice-president-elect received a dose of the Moderna vaccine from clinical nurse Patricia Cummings at United Medical Center, which is located in Southeast Washington, DC.
The US dismissed a report suggesting that India is covertly enriching its nuclear weapons capabilities, describing it as "speculative".
During the virtual meet, Biden and Modi will discuss cooperation on a range of issues, including ending the COVID-19 pandemic, countering the climate crisis, strengthening the global economy, and upholding a free, open, rules-based international order to bolster security, democracy, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said.
Showing no signs of yielding to India's demand, the United States on Saturday said that Devyani Khobragade's transfer to India's Permanent Mission at the United Nations will not give her diplomatic immunity retroactively and the visa fraud case against her would remain.
Secretary of State John Kerry plans to call his Indian counterpart Salman Khurshid soon as the ties between two sides are too important to be derailed by an "isolated incident" of the arrest of a diplomat, the US State Department has said.
At her daily news conference on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked how the world's largest and oldest democracies are working together to bring peace in the region amidst the war in Ukraine.
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the nation's top oil firm, has bought as much as 3 million barrels of crude oil that Russia had offered at steep discount to prevailing international rates, sources said. The purchase, made through a trader, is the first since Russia's February 24 invasion of Ukraine that brought international pressure for isolating Putin administration. Sources aware of the matter said IOC bought Urals crude for May delivery at a discount of $20-25 a barrel to dated Brent.
More than 20 days after it was submitted by the United Nations, the United States continues to review the visa application of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade, which would give her full diplomatic immunity.
India's total purchase of oil from Russia in a month is probably less than what Europe does in an afternoon, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said.
Biden has ruled out any change in the plan to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan despite the Taliban increasingly gaining control over large swaths of the war-torn country
"The president pledged America's steadfast ongoing support for the people of India, who have been impacted by the recent surge in the COVID-19 cases," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference.
According to a 2019 Congressional Research Service report of August 2019, a longstanding goal of US policy in South Asia has been to prevent the India-Pakistan conflict from escalating to interstate war.
The executive order also provides authority to impose sanctions on any person determined to operate in those areas of Ukraine.
The US dismissed a report suggesting that India is covertly enriching its nuclear weapons capabilities, describing it as "speculative".
The president said he will be signing a number of executive orders over the next several days of the week.
A federal counter intelligence probe against former top American diplomat Robin Raphel, who also lobbied for Pakistan post retirement, would not impact America's ties with South Asian countries, a US official has said.
The United States has discussed with Iran the need to refrain from pressing a "sectarian agenda" in Iraq as the two rivals met on the sidelines of talks on Tehran's nuclear programme in Vienna.
Militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant claimed that they had executed 1,700 Iraqi Shia air force recruits in Tikrit, posting some gruesome photos online to support their claim.
Pak's role in Kabul is not sending a good message to India, a top American lawmaker has said
"Now, our 20-year military presence in Afghanistan has ended," he said, thanking armed forces for their execution of the dangerous retrograde from Afghanistan as scheduled -- in the early hours of Tuesday (August 31) -- with no further loss of American lives.
An ISIS-Khorasan planner was killed in a "counterterrorism" operation conducted by US military forces in the Nangahar province, a day after a terror attack in Kabul killed scores of people including 13 US troops.
US Secretary of State John Kerry has not issued any certificate to the Congress on the progress made by Pakistan in taking action against terrorist groups, his spokesperson has said.
Amidst raging controversy in India over visa for Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, the US on refused to commit itself whether he would be granted permission to travel to America.
US President-elect Biden has a history of advocating on behalf of women in the US and around the world and the new team announcement is a continuation of that work.
A Chinese court on Sunday sentenced leading anti-corruption activist to four years in jail for his role during the transparency campaign, escalating a crackdown on his movement, drawing international criticism.
The United States o Friday said senior Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade, who returned to New Delhi, no longer enjoys immunity and she and Indian government were told that an arrest warrant might be issued against her.
The White House and the Indian-American community are solidly backing the nomination of Neera Tanden as the director of Office of Management and Budget, describing her as the most appropriate candidate to hold the position.
'No one in this administration, not the President nor anyone on the national security team, would suggest that the Taliban are respected and valued members of the global community'
A day earlier, the House of Representatives voted 326-78 to pass a waiver exempting Austin from the seven-year 'cooling off period' for retired generals taking over as defence secretary. The senate approved the waiver by 69-27 votes.
Schumer said the house managers will come to read the article of impeachment at 7 pm on Monday. Members will then be sworn in the next day.
Trump is the first US president who facing an impeachment trial after he left the presidency.
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