Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Bali on Monday for the G20 Summit and bilateral meetings on its sidelines with key leaders attending this annual conference of the world's major economies.
Foreign ministers of G20 major economies will meet in the national capital on March 1 and 2 to deliberate on pressing global challenges amid escalating confrontation between Russia and the West over the Ukraine conflict that entered the second year this week.
The phone conversation came days after it emerged that Modi will not be travelling to Russia for the annual India-Russia summit this year.
Russia President Vladimir Putin on Monday described India as a great power, a friendly nation and a time-tested friend and echoed common concerns over terrorism, drug trafficking and organised crime as he held wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In his opening remarks at the talks, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh asserted that India is confident of overcoming the challenges with a strong political will and an inherent capability of its people.
Market gauges Sensex and Nifty extended their losing streak to the sixth session on Wednesday as lingering Ukraine crisis continued to dent investor sentiment. The Sensex closed 68.62 points or 0.12 per cent lower at 57,232.06 and the Nifty ended 28.95 points or 0.12 per cent down at 17,063.25. For better part of session, both indices traded in the positive territory tracking mostly higher Asian peers as investors hoped that Western sanctions on Russia after Moscow's troop movements near Ukraine border might soften Vladimir Putin defiant tone and leave some room to avoid war. The Sensex breadth was equally divided between gains and losses.
Glimpses of destroyed Russian tanks, helicopter, weapons in Ukraine.
The development comes following the third round of talks between Russia and Ukraine in Belarus on Monday, which apparently ended up in failure.
Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra on Wednesday refused to speculate on whether the G20 foreign ministers' meeting would be able to come out with a joint communique against the backdrop of widening differences between the West and Russia on the Ukraine conflict.
China's Ambassador to Afghanistan Wang Yu and Acting Minister of Refugee Affairs of the Afghan caretaker government Khalil-ur-Rehman Haqqani attended the handover ceremony at the airport.
Jaishankar said he emphasised that India supports diplomacy and dialogue as the "way out".
These sweeping financial sanctions follow the action earlier this week to cut off Russia's frozen funds in the United States to make debt payments.
The UN Security Council is scheduled to vote on Friday evening on a draft resolution on Russia's military operation in Ukraine as well as the escalating situation in the eastern European country.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Phnom Penh on Sunday and discussed bilateral ties, the raging Ukraine conflict, energy issues, G20 and the situation in the Indo-Pacific, days ahead of a possible meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden.
The phone conversation between Jaishankar and Blinken came days after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov paid a two-day visit to India.
The G20's Bali Declaration Wednesday acknowledged differences among members on the Russia-Ukraine war but said it was essential to adhere to international law, including protection of civilians caught in conflicts.
In the summit as well as in the inaugural '2+2' defence and foreign ministerial talks, the two sides are also expected to focus on the situation in Afghanistan and the rising threat of terrorism including from groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed.
"The fight against impunity is critical to the larger pursuit of securing peace and justice. The Security Council must send an unambiguous and unequivocal message on this count," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told the 15-nation UN Security Council briefing on Ukraine 'Fight against impunity'.
Notwithstanding its continuing military strikes against Ukraine, Russia has started supplying some components of the second regiment of the S-400 Triumf missile defence system to India, people familiar with the development said on Friday.
India has not been invited to a crucial meeting being convened by Russia on the fast-evolving situation in Afghanistan that is expected to see the participation of Pakistan, China and the US, people familiar with the development said on Thursday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday underlined the need for not promoting any restrictions on the supply of energy and called for ensuring stability while once again emphasising on resolving the Ukraine conflict through diplomacy.
Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Wednesday had 'fruitful and productive' meetings with top Russian diplomats on bilateral issues as well as regional and global issues of mutual interest and the two sides discussed ways to further strengthen the bilateral Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership.
The President of the Security Council for December said India has taken the side of peace and favours de-escalation through diplomacy and dialogue.
'The really striking thing is that the Taliban has suo moto presented to us certain firm benchmarks against which it expects us to hold to account the Taliban rulers's actions in the period ahead' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Centre is unlikely to announce an agreement over payment mechanism with Russia until a ceasefire is declared in the Ukraine war, said people in the know. An inter-ministerial group headed by the finance ministry has been meeting regularly for over a month to analyse and discuss payment mechanisms that can work under the current circumstances and ensure the trade between India and Russia is not disrupted. The US had recently said that there would be consequences for countries actively attempting to "circumvent or backfill" American sanctions against Russia.
Guterres, who opened an emergency meeting of the 15-nation Security Council on Ukraine late Wednesday, in his brief off-the-cuff remarks said 'if indeed an operation is being prepared, I have only one thing to say from the bottom of my heart: President Putin, stop your troops from attacking Ukraine. Give peace a chance. Too many people have already died'.
Earlier on Sunday, Macron spoke with Biden and Putin on the Ukraine situation.
Jaishankar said the world has experienced its consequences in terms of higher costs and shortages of foodgrains and fertilizers and fuel.
The external affairs minister reiterated India's position on Afghanistan and highlighted its humanitarian support to the war-torn country, including the supply of wheat, medicines, vaccines and clothing.
Asked why the United States was targeting Putin's daughters, a senior Biden administration official said the US thought they could be in control of some of their father's assets.
It is going to be a long-term proposition for India -- which has a decades-old relationship with Moscow -- to reorient its foreign policy away from Russia, the US has said, insisting that re-aligning one's approach is not like flipping a light switch.
'We should give (Mueller) credit. In general, he conducted an objective probe and confirmed the absence of any traces and collusion between Russia and the current administration'
Biden previously stated he did not believe the Russian leader had made up his mind but acknowledged his insights into Putin's thinking were limited.
There is growing acceptance of the idea in the international community that engaging the Taliban government is a far better approach than ostracising it, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday met her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow and raised several issues.
In New Delhi, Singh will continue US administration's ongoing consultations with India, and advance a range of issues in the US-India economic relationship and strategic partnership.
United States President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Wednesday smiled and greeted each other awkwardly with a handshake outside a villa in Geneva, before heading in for a highly-anticipated summit.
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.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is in Moscow on a four-day visit to attend the meeting of foreign ministers of the SCO of which both India and China are members.
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