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.
Jaishankar said the world has experienced its consequences in terms of higher costs and shortages of foodgrains and fertilizers and fuel.
US officials did not announce their visit but it was Zelenskyy who revealed it in his speech on Saturday, saying that he would use this meeting to discuss the "military assistance we need."
In the shadows of a sliding rupee, India's knitwear hub Tiruppur is weaving a success story. While the domestic currency edges closer to the 86 mark against the US dollar, triggering concerns for many sectors, this textile town in Tamil Nadu is finding opportunity in adversity: Between April and December alone, Tiruppur's exports reached Rs 26,000 crore, almost eclipsing last financial year's total of Rs 30,690 crore.
'As we enter 2025, it must be acknowledged that there is a convergence of capital, influential people (from business and politics) and technology deciding the destiny of others in the name of pride, patriotism, nationalism, nation building, all of it thinly veiled disguises for personal profit and glory,' asserts Shyam G Menon.
He also claimed that the Sino-Indian border conflict has a link with a weak economy, a confused nation without any vision, hatred, anger and the Chinese sitting in Indian territory.
'The first and most basic responsibility of any government is to protect its people from external threats and internal harm.' 'Budget 2025-2026 has to focus on meeting this responsibility,' asserts R Jagannathan.
The phone conversation between Jaishankar and Blinken came days after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov paid a two-day visit to India.
PM Modi went to New York this time not to engage in polemics, but to find solutions to global problems. He made some progress on several matters, even on reform of the UN Security Council, when the US made a major concession for the first time that six permanent members without veto, including India, could be considered
"People's republics of Donbass approached Russia with a request for help. In connection therewith, I made the decision to hold a special military operation," Putin said in a special television address.
"No one has ever accused India of supporting what is going on in Ukraine. What India seems to be doing is trying to operate within the policy outlined by Nehru 65 years back," said a source.
The Ministry further said that it is keeping an eye on the developments in Ukraine and the situation will be reassessed as per that.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday defended Prime Minister Narendra Modi's hugging of Russian President Vladimir Putin, a gesture that had drawn much criticism from the West.
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.
It was good fortune for India to have Atal Bihari Vajpayee lead the government at a crucial moment in our history. He avoided India meeting the fate of Iraq or Ukraine, asserts military historian Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
India will continue to be a strategic partner for the United States despite concerns over its ties with Russia, the Biden Administration has said.
Soon after the gunshots were heard at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, where Trump was golfing, the FBI said that it is "investigating what appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump".
The real intention of the 'Tariff Man' (as Trump calls himself) may not even be to put the 'Tariff King' (as he describes India) on the mat with a knockout punch but to arm-twist the Indian leadership to agree to some multi-billion dollar mega arms deal, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The residential building in the town of Chasiv Yar was hit on Saturday evening as Russia ramped up its assault on cities and towns in eastern Ukraine in an attempt to take control over the entire Donbas area.
Russian invaders are not getting the support of locals in Ukraine and thus they are resorting to instilling terror, said the Ukrainian FM.
The stage may be set for a recalibrated US-Iran relationship, suggests Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The President of the Security Council for December said India has taken the side of peace and favours de-escalation through diplomacy and dialogue.
White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Monday that the United States is actively working to reach a diplomatic solution to de-escalate the crisis.
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.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday conveyed to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting that India would continue to do everything within its means to support a peaceful solution to the Ukraine conflict and that the way to peace is through 'dialogue and diplomacy'.
India is a great power that determines its national interests and chooses its partners, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said, describing as "completely unjustified" the "enormous pressure" on New Delhi due to its energy cooperation with Moscow.
The US is ready to respond "decisively" to a Russian attack on Ukraine which is still very much a possibility, President Joe Biden has said, urging Moscow to step back from the brink of war.
Biden met with Ukraine's first lady Olena Zelenska at a converted school that now serves as temporary housing for displaced citizens.
American analysts and their camp followers in India are talking absolute rubbish when they try to establish that India is facing a Hobson's choice in regard of Donbass, called upon to take sides between Russia and the West, asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Americans have expended a lot of diplomatic energy to coax India into toeing their line but India has refused to buckle under pressure. As Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said, India has not taken anyone's side but its own side, points out Virendra Kapoor.
'What would we feel if we found the world behaving the way it has?' 'Forced to fight our own prolonged battle; nobody from outside really demanding that the war end or actively working to make it end, and above all, a completely toothless United Nations reduced to pleading for a halt to the violence,' notes Shyam G Menon, exactly a month after Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine.
French police have arrested a Russian man suspected of planning to destabilize the Olympics.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron have called for enhancing trade and investment ties between their countries and committed to further deepening their engagement in the Indo-Pacific. They discussed a full spectrum of bilateral relations, including key global and regional issues, and stressed the urgent need for reform in the United Nations Security Council. The leaders also underscored their commitment to ensuring the global AI sector can drive positive social, economic, and environmental outcomes.
Geopolitical tensions simmered at the US Open on Thursday as Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk refused the customary handshake at the net when Belarusian Victoria Azarenka defeated her 6-2, 6-3 in the second round.
It's time India re-visited its Western alliances for the attitude and approach that the West reserves for the nation when it comes to security cooperation of the kind that they might not have visualised outside of China, India's bug-bear, asserts N Sathiya Moorthy.
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.
Over the years, India has enjoyed bipartisan support in the US and this asset must be kept intact and nurtured through across the board political and civil society engagement, suggests former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
Biden said the US will continue to escalate sanctions if Russia escalates.
Reiterating his stance of not surrendering, Zelenskyy said, "Let's say they demand to get Kharkiv, or Mariupol, or Kyiv. People in these cities won't let them do it. The only way they can seize the cities is to kill everyone, and take the empty city."
Earlier on Sunday, Macron spoke with Biden and Putin on the Ukraine situation.
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