Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has expressed his desire for peaceful relations with India based on the principles of 'equity, justice and mutual respect' and the resolution of the Kashmir issue, according to a media report on Friday.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, on Tuesday flagged the responsibilities which come along with a permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council, saying India may also be required to send its troops on UN-backed missions to defend peace on foreign shores.
Pakistan on Tuesday said it has expressed "serious concern" to the United Nations over a draft bill in the Indian Parliament over the map of Kashmir and called upon the world body to uphold its resolutions and urge India to stop such acts which are in "violation of international law".
Is this the time to use India's forex reserves to bail out Dubai? The emirate might be grateful, but how would the others in the United Arab Emirates react? asks TVR Shenoy.
The United States will host a team from India at the State Department over two days beginning on Monday to discuss strategy for a way forward toward UNSC expansion.
In an interaction that followed his keynote speech at a conference on US-India Relations, Barack Obama administration's point man for South Asia, Robert Blake was asked how he saw the Indo-US partnership playing out in the UN Security Council in the wake of the US endorsement.
The council's appeal came in a presidential statement at the end of a day-long discussion on crimes against women.
The Obama administration has rationalised India's abstention on the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 last month, calling for a no-fly zone in strife-torn Libya, as based on part misinformation and part going along with its Brazil, Russia, and China partners.
United States President Barack Obama has assured Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the United Nations Security Council resolution asking non-Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty states to sign the proliferation treaty is not directed against India and that his country would fulfill all obligations with regard to the nuclear deal.
India has abstained on a draft resolution tabled in the United Nations Security Council which condemned Russia's 'illegal referenda' and annexation of four Ukrainian territories and called for an immediate cessation of violence while underlining the need to find pathways for a return to the negotiating table.
The 28-member North Atlantic Treaty Organisation has announced to take over all the international operations in Libya, including military operations to enforce no-fly-zone, enforcement of arms embargo and the civilian protections.
Analysts suggest that with the Indo-US nuclear deal in limbo, New Delhi could be balancing foreign policy with an eye to the polls. They say that India's sharp response to the US State Department's 'advice' on Iran was one such move. While some felt the response was a case of dangerous over-reaction, others said it was merely an act of diplomacy where relations with other countries, particularly the US, are balanced to suit India's interests.
An estimated 400 people, an average of 40 a day, have been killed in Syria in the days following the arrival of the Arab League monitors in the country, a top United Nations official has said.
Richard Fontaine, director of the Task Force convened by the Centre for New American Security, fears that India's abstentions of key votes at the United Nations Security Council and a divide on the issue of Iran when it does come up may dissipate Washington's enthusiasm to push for India's bid for a permanent seat.
Traders are 'chowkidar' (watchman) of Indian economy, CAIT secretary general said.
Putin justified his decision in a speech blaming NATO for the current crisis and calling the US-led alliance an existential threat to Russia.
The Russian ambassador clashed with American and Georgian envoys in a meeting of the United Nations Security Council as he rejected a new draft on South Ossetia conflict circulated by France, saying it was 'one-sided'.Rejecting the draft, Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said, "Russia is explicitly complying with the six principles proclaimed in the Kremlin on August 12. We and the whole international community need the support of the Security Council."
Diplomats said that France, whose original draft is being opposed by Moscow, is working on fresh resolution that would try to harmonize the two opposing drafts even as most members stressed the need to have resolution, which could be adopted unanimously.
The US has also urged the two South Asian neighbours to avoid further military action.
Karl F Inderfurth, who was Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs in the Clinton administration, and Nicholas Burns, who was Under Secretary of State in the Bush Administration, told rediff.com that Obama's endorsement during his address to a joint session of Parliament thus made his visit to India transformational too in a sense as had the trip by Clinton in March of 2000 and Bush in March 2006.
China's increasing presence in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir was not discussed, but both nations did discuss Pakistan, China and other issues related to maritime disputes and the security situation in the Indian Ocean.
Hitting hard at countries that have been blocking the expansion of United Nations Security Council in both the permanent and non-permanent categories, India on Thursday dared such nations to schedule a straw poll in the UN General Assembly to prove that they had the numbers.
The 193-member general assembly voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to condemn Russia's "illegal so-called referendums in regions within the internationally recognised borders of Ukraine and the attempted illegal annexation of the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine, following the organisation of the above-mentioned referendums".
India will make a strong pitch for comprehensive reform of the United Nations Security Council to create an equitable system that is reflective of current realities when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh addresses the UN General Assembly on Saturday.
"The ICC (International Cricket Council) Champions Trophy 2025 is a culmination of those efforts," PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told Reuters.
Defence is at the heart of the India-United relationship, so it is interesting that General Lloyd Austin, the US secretary for defense, was not among the officials present when Joe Biden met Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi for their first meeting since Biden became president in January.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday addressed the UN General Assembly. Modi's 35-minute address covered a number of subjects such as terrorism, including its resurgence in West Asia, reforms of the United Nations, including the Security Council, and the need for a more inclusive global development.
Tirumurti said India continues to remain deeply concerned at the worsening situation and reiterates its call for immediate cessation of violence and end to hostilities.
Diplomats inside the meeting said, however, that only 22 of the 35 board nations voted for the United States-backed European Union motion, reflecting the divisions over the referral
He said G-4, the group comprising Germany, Japan, Brazil and India, should be credited with putting forward the UNSC reforms, including expansion of the security council, on agenda of the UN and it could not be reversed.
India is one of the countries aiming for a seat on an expanded UNSC.
Iran and Saudi Arabia have agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations and reopen embassies after talks in Beijing between officials from the two rival Middle East powers, Iranian state media reported on Friday.
India, together with Japan, Brazil and Germany, nicknamed the Group of Four -- is lobbying for a permanent Security Council seat, and the quartet has circulated a revised draft proposal that would expand the body from 15 to 25 members.
