The 193-member UN General Assembly on Thursday voted to adopt a draft resolution moved by the US to suspend Russia from the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) over allegations that Russian soldiers killed civilians while retreating from towns near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
India will continue to be a strategic partner for the United States despite concerns over its ties with Russia, the Biden Administration has said.
The statement by John Kirby, national security council coordinator for strategic communications at the White House, came as Putin hosted the Chinese leader.
India also slammed Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for raking up Jammu and Kashmir at the UN.
In a heinous terror attack, two Indians were killed while one was abducted in the Dosso region of Niger, as noted by the Indian Embassy in Niger.
India has not yet condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and it has been maintaining that the crisis must be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue.
A special United Nations envoy to Crimea, who was threatened by 10 to 15 armed men, is safe and will return to Ukrainian capital Kiev to continue his mission, the United Nations has said.
The 15-nation Council met on Friday to vote on the resolution tabled by the United Arab Emirates and backed by over 90 member states. The resolution got the backing of 13 Council members who voted in its favour while the United Kingdom abstained.
India has been stoutly defending its "special and privileged strategic partnership" with Russia and maintained the momentum in the ties notwithstanding the Ukraine conflict.
In retrospect, it appeared that the bitterness of the war was still strong and the Ukrainian success in occupying Russian territory just a few days ago had added to the complexity of the situation. The positive US response to the visit, however, remains a silver lining in the dark clouds, notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'Instead of fighting over whatever will be left of the present world, the permanent members of the UN security council should have raised a little finger to arrest the death and devastation around us,' notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has strongly condemned the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir, urging that those responsible be held accountable and brought to justice. The Council issued a press statement expressing its deepest sympathy to the victims' families and calling for all states to cooperate in combating terrorism. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also expressed concern about the situation, urging India and Pakistan to exercise restraint.
In his address, Singh said there should be "no double standards" in combating terrorism and urged the SCO member nations to condemn the menace with unity.
India abstained in the UN General Assembly on Thursday on a resolution that underscored the need to reach "comprehensive, just and lasting peace" in Ukraine, citing the resolution's "inherent limitations" in reaching New Delhi's desired goal of securing lasting peace and ending the conflict which has been raging for one year now.
The White House readout of the call had no reference to Bangladesh, which was mentioned in an 'X' post by PM Modi.
Ukraine and Russia need to engage with each other to find a solution to the ongoing conflict between them, India said on Friday after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held wide-ranging talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv under the shadow of the raging war.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday told Russian President Vladimir Putin that a solution to the Ukraine conflict is not possible on the battlefield and peace efforts do not succeed in the midst of bombs and bullets even as he flagged concerns over a missile strike on a children's hospital in Kyiv.
Ahead of his much-anticipated visit to conflict-torn Ukraine, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said India firmly believes that no problem can be solved on the battlefield and it is ready to extend all possible cooperation for the restoration of peace and stability in the region.
United Nations General Assembly President Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, who opened an emergency session of the 192-member body to discuss the "illegal Israeli actions" in Gaza, briefly clashed with an Israeli diplomat, who questioned the validity of calling the meeting.
The Kashmir issue should be resolved through dialogue and consultation between India and Pakistan, China said on Tuesday while reacting to the Supreme Court judgment on Article 370 upholding the central government's decision on the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
India, the official said, has a long history of relations with Russia. They have interests with Russia that go back many, many decades.
'The Indian battalion had played an important role in keeping the community safe as well as encouraging local peace efforts'
Only 13 nations voted in favour of Russia's call for a secret ballot on draft resolution on Ukraine.
The leaders said they stand for adherence to international law, peaceful resolution of disputes and respect for principles of the UN Charter, including territorial integrity and sovereignty of all states.
Lavrov also noted that the G20 Summit in New Delhi provided a direction towards fairness in global governance and global finance as well.
The race for the UN secretary-general for 2022-2027 is already over and another term for Antonio Guterres is a foregone conclusion, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Dialogue and diplomacy is the only way forward for peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval said at a conference in Jeddah on the crisis while underlining the need for upholding sovereignty and territorial integrity by all states without 'exception'.
The UN Security Council on Wednesday failed to adopt a Brazil-led draft resolution that would have called for humanitarian pauses in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict to allow full access for aid to the Gaza strip after the US vetoed the text.
India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Syed Akbaruddin, on Thursday lambasted Pakistan for peddling a false narrative on New Delhi and said there are no "takers for your malware here".
India along with China, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE voted against equal rights for gay staffers in UN
Russia vetoed the United States-sponsored resolution on Friday that 'deplored in the strongest terms' Russia's 'aggression' against Ukraine and asked Moscow to immediately stop its attack on that country.
Deposed Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has issued a strong warning against threats to ban her Awami League party, calling the demands "audacious" and accusing Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus of being a "fraud" and "corrupt" for his role in the current interim government. Hasina, who fled Bangladesh in August 2024 following a student-led uprising, claims Yunus assumed power through a "meticulous design" with funding from overseas and misled students and people. She asserts that her Awami League is the legitimate party, with a strong history of fighting for the people's rights, and accuses Yunus and his supporters of having no constitutional basis or people's mandate to rule the country.
'The escalation of tension along the border of Ukraine with the Russian Federation is a matter of deep concern'
In a joint statement after their talks, President Biden and Prime Minister Modi expressed their deep concern over the conflict in Ukraine and mourned its terrible and tragic humanitarian consequences.
"The two sides note that the relationship between Russia and China has progressed to a more advanced interstate cooperation compared to the military-political unions of the Cold War era as it is not bloc or confrontational in nature, nor does it target any third countries," Russia's new agency Tass quoted the document as saying.
The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday elected Chad, Chile, Lithuania, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia to serve as non-permanent members on the Security Council for two-year terms beginning in January 2014.
Tirumurti also said India is 'deeply concerned' about the welfare and security of the Indian community, including a large number of Indian students, in Ukraine.
The 193-member UN General Assembly adopted the draft resolution 'Humanitarian consequences of the aggression against Ukraine' by Ukraine and its western allies, with 140 nations voting in favour, five against and 38 abstentions. India abstained on the resolution.
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