Categories
-Top News India News News

Putin proposes bilateral talks with Modi during BRICS

The remarks by the Russian president came while he met National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on the sidelines of the BRICS National Security Advisers’ meeting

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday extended an invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, proposing a bilateral meeting on October 22, on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan. During the invitation, Putin also referred to PM Modi as a “good friend.”

The remarks by Putin came while he met National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on the sidelines of the BRICS National Security Advisers’ meeting. Putin had a meeting with Doval at the Constantine Palace in Russia’s St. Petersberg.

Quoting President Putin, the Kremlin, in a statement, said, “We will be expecting Mr Modi in Kazan. I also suggest holding a bilateral meeting there on October 22 in order to close the books on our joint work in implementing the agreements reached during his visit to Moscow and outline some prospects for the near future.”

India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval calls on Russian President Vladimir Putin in Kremlin.

“Please extend my warmest regards and best wishes to Mr Modi, my good friend,” the statement added.

Putin further said that the “special privileged strategic partnership” between India and Russia is “gaining momentum and growing stronger, which we are delighted about.” He added, “We are also pleased to see India’s success in strengthening its statehood and advancing its economy under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership.”

The Russian president further highlighted the importance of security cooperation between India and Russia, emphasising that security issues have remained a top priority for both nations. “Security issues have always been, and continue to be, among our top priorities. We appreciate your visit to St. Petersburg following last year’s meeting in Moscow. Thank you for continuing to support this dialogue from the Indian side,” Putin said.

The Indian Embassy in Russia said that Doval and Putin, during their meeting, discussed issues of mutual interest. Sharing a post on X, it wrote, “Ajit Doval called on the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg on September 12, as directed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They discussed issues of mutual interest in the spirit of Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between the two countries.”

Earlier in the day, Doval had a bilateral meeting with Sergei Shoigu, Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, on the sidelines of the BRICS NSAs meeting in St Petersburg. Both sides reviewed progress in bilateral cooperation and discussed important issues of mutual interest.

Notably, in July, Narendra Modi went to Russia and hailing the relationship between both nations, PM Modi asserted that their ties are important not just for India and Russia but for the entire world. He had said, “In the context of today’s global atmosphere, India and Russia’s partnership becomes all the more important. Both of us believe that continuous efforts should be made for global stability and peace. In the time to come, we will work together towards this.”

The Prime Minister had also asserted that in the past 2.5 decades, the relationship between India and Russia under the leadership of Putin has strengthened. He had said, “Under your (Putin) leadership, India-Russia relations have strengthened in all directions and have scaled new heights each time. The foundation of strategic ties between the two nations that you had laid has only further strengthened over time.”

Meanwhile, on the sidelines of the BRICS NSAs’ meeting, Doval also met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday. During their discussions, Doval emphasised that maintaining peace and tranquillity in border areas, as well as respecting the Line of Actual Control (LAC), are essential for restoring normalcy in bilateral relations between India and China.

The meeting gave India and China an opportunity to review the recent efforts towards finding an early resolution of the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), which will create conditions to stabilise and rebuild bilateral relations. Both sides agreed to work with urgency and redouble their efforts to realise complete disengagement in the remaining areas, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a press release.

Doval conveyed that peace and tranquillity in border areas and respect for LAC are essential for normalcy in bilateral relations. Both sides must fully abide by relevant bilateral agreements, protocols, and understandings reached in the past by the two governments.

The two sides also agreed that the India-China bilateral relationship is significant not just for the two countries but also for the region and the world. The two sides also exchanged views on the global and regional situation, the MEA release added.

Notably, Russia is holding the BRICS chairmanship for the year 2024. BRICS is an informal group of states comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, with new members Egypt, Iran, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Ethiopia joining the grouping in 2023. NSA Doval had participated in the 13th BRICS NSA meeting in Johannesburg in July 2023. (ANI)

ALSO READ: Doval attends BRICS meets in Russia

Categories
-Top News Europe World News

Putin Wants Ukraine Surrender 4 Regions To Stop War

President Putin’s Friday remarks mentioned Russia’s conditions for a “final end” to the war in more granular detail than at any previous time since the conflict between Moscow and Kyiv started in February 2022.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia will only put an end to its war in Ukraine if Kyiv surrenders entire territory of four regions claimed by Moscow and abandons its bid to join North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), CNN reported. Ukraine has rejected Putin’s demand and termed it a “complete sham” and “offensive to common sense.”

In his remarks on Friday, Putin mentioned Russia’s conditions for a “final end” to the war in more granular detail than at any previous time since the conflict between Moscow and Kyiv started in February 2022.

Putin’s speech came on the eve of the Swiss peace conference set to be held in Switzerland, where Russia has not been invited. He called the conference “another ploy to divert everyone’s attention.”

In addition to Ukrainian soldiers withdrawing from four regions, Putin said that Kyiv must demilitarise and that Western nations must lift their sanctions on Russia.

Putin’s demand indicate Russia’s failure to achieve its original war aims, when Moscow believed it could capture Kyiv in days and the rest of Ukraine in weeks, CNN reported. However, Russia, nearly 28 months later, occupied around a fifth of Ukrainian territory, including the Crimean peninsula it annexed 10 years back.

In comments to the foreign ministry, Putin termed Russia’s conditions for peace talks “simple,” starting with the total withdrawal of Ukraine’s soldiers from the entire territory of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. Russia only controls these regions partially but it had claimed the whole of four regions as part of the Russia’s territory in 2022.

Putin said that Ukraine should surrender not jut the territory on the Russian side of the frontline but the “entire territory of these regions.”

The Russian President said, “As soon as they declare in Kyiv that they are ready for such a decision and begin the real withdrawal of troops from these regions – and also officially notify about the abandonment of plans to join NATO – our side will immediately, at the same minute, make the order to cease fire and begin negotiations,” CNN reported.

Putin promised to “guarantee the unhindered and safe withdrawal of Ukrainian units and formations.” He stated that Russia acknowledges its role in global stability and stressed that his terms for ending the war in Ukraine would need to be cemented in international agreements.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine “does not trust” Putin’s “ultimatum,” which he said did not significantly differ from offers he has made before, CNN reported.

In his remarks at the Group of Seven (G7) Summit in Italy, Zelenskyy spoke about similarities between Putin’s tactics and those used by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler to conquer swaths of Europe in the 1930s and 1940s, as per the CNN report.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak urged Ukraine’s allies to “get rid of illusions” and to stop taking Russia’s offers seriously, terming Putin’s terms as “offensive to common sense.”

Podolyak said, “There is no novelty in this, no real peace proposals and no desire to end the war. But there is a desire not to pay for this war and to continue it in new formats. It’s all a complete sham.” (ANI)

ALSO READ: ‘Russian advance in Kharkiv slows after lifting of arms curbs’

Categories
-Top News EU News Europe

Putin Open to Ukraine Talks, Stresses Pre-Existing Deals


Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia is ready to resume negotiations with Ukraine, but only under the terms of previous agreements….reports Asian Lite News

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that his country is ready to continue negotiations with Ukraine, but only based on the agreements reached before.

“Well, let them (negotiations) return, but not from what one side wants, but based on those agreements reached during negotiations in Belarus and Turkey and based on the current situation on the ground,” Putin told a press conference on Friday following talks with his Belarusian counterpart, Aleksandr Lukashenko, in Minsk.

The Istanbul agreements satisfied both the Ukrainian and the Russian sides in 2022, Putin said, adding that Russia supports the resumption of negotiations with Ukraine, Xinhua news agency reported.

Rescuers battle a fire at the burning Crocus City Hall concert venue following a shooting incident in the northwest of Moscow, Russia, on March 22, 2024.(Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr/Xinhua/IANS)

Meanwhile, Alexander Bortnikov, Director of Russia’s Federal Security Service, on Friday said that Ukrainian military intelligence is directly involved in the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall in the Moscow suburb.

Bortnikov made the statement at a meeting of the Council of Heads of Security Agencies and Special Services of the Commonwealth of Independent States in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

He said: “The investigation is ongoing, but it is already safe to say that Ukrainian military intelligence has a direct connection to this attack.”

Bortnikov promised that “all circumstances of the crime will be established and everyone involved in it will not escape punishment.”

A shooting at Moscow’s Crocus City Hall concert venue on March 22, followed by a massive fire, resulted in at least 144 deaths and 551 injuries, according to official statistics.

ALSO READ: G7 officials play down expectations on details of loan for Ukraine

Categories
-Top News EU News Europe

No Plans to Capture city of Kharkiv, Says Putin

Putin said the buffer zone around Kharkiv is needed because the Belgorod region was being massively bombarded with drones and missiles from Kharkiv….reports Asian Lite News

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that at the moment he has no plans to capture the city of Kharkiv, but that Russian forces were establishing a buffer zone in the area because of attacks from Kharkiv on the Russian region of Belgorod.

He made his comments in response to a question from Russian state media reporters at the end of his visit to China in the city of Harbin.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the heavily attacked Kharkiv region on Thursday and said the situation had stabilised. The area has come under heavy Russian attack recently.

Putin said the buffer zone around Kharkiv is needed because the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, was being massively bombarded with drones and missiles from Kharkiv.

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, who is currently deputy head of the National Security Council, described Zelensky’s trip to Kharkiv as a farewell visit.

Russian leaders repeatedly refer to Kharkiv as a Russian city, leading many experts to assume that the Kremlin wants to annex the region. Putin’s denial, at least for the time being, is the first time he has stated that there are no current plans to do so.

ALSO READ: Russia, India Eye Visa-Free Tourism Agreement

Categories
-Top News EU News Europe

Putin warns West of risking a global conflict

In a defiant speech at Moscow’s Red Square before thousands of soldiers, Putin said that Western elites had forgotten Soviet Union’s role in defeating Nazism…reports Asian Lite News

Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the “arrogant” West of risking a global conflict, warning the nuclear power’s “strategic forces” are combat-ready, as he marked the Soviet victory over Germany in World War II.

In a defiant speech on Thursday at Moscow’s Red Square before thousands of soldiers dressed in ceremonial attire, Putin said that Western elites had forgotten the Soviet Union’s role in defeating Nazism and were now stoking conflict around the world.

“We know what the exorbitance of such ambitions leads to. Russia will do everything to prevent a global clash,” he said. “But at the same time, we will not allow anyone to threaten us. Our strategic forces are always in a state of combat readiness.”

Victory Day has become Russia’s most important public holiday as Putin puts the country firmly on a combat footing. Evoking the second world war, the president has repeatedly framed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 as an existential battle against Nazism.

This year’s address to the nation came as his troops make advances in Ukraine and just after he took the oath for an unprecedented fifth term after winning presidential elections devoid of all opposition. At a lavish inauguration held two days earlier, he promised to deliver “victory” to Russians.

The 71-year-old leader has also upped his nuclear rhetoric. Earlier this week, he ordered the Russian military to hold nuclear weapons drills involving the navy and troops based near Ukraine.

Last year Russia revoked its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and pulled out of a key arms reduction agreement with the United States.

On Thursday, columns of tanks and missiles rolled across Red Square as squadrons of fighter jets roared above.

There was tight security in the capital, and parades were cancelled in several areas, including the western Kursk and Pskov regions, due to security concerns.

The parade in Moscow was scaled back compared with past years amid the mobilisation on the front lines. Putin casts the ongoing war as part of a struggle with the West, which he says humiliated Russia after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 by encroaching on what he considers Moscow’s sphere of influence.

Ukraine and its Western allies have pledged to defeat Russia, which currently controls about 18 percent of Ukraine, including Crimea, and parts of four regions in eastern Ukraine.

Present at the event were the leaders of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Cuba, Laos and Guinea-Bissau.

Russian officials say the Ukraine war is entering the most dangerous phase to date. Putin has repeatedly warned of the risk of a much broader war involving the world’s biggest nuclear powers.

Last week, Putin had directed Russian forces to conduct tactical nuclear weapons exercises in response to what he termed as “threats” from the West.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Putin has hinted at the potential use of tactical nuclear weapons against Western nations. However, Monday marked the first public announcement of such drills by Russia.

According to Russia’s defence ministry, the exercises will encompass preparations and deployment scenarios involving non-strategic nuclear weapons.

Tactical nuclear weapons, unlike their strategic counterparts, are designed for battlefield use and possess lower destructive capabilities, as reported by CNN.

The decision to conduct these drills follows what the defence ministry describes as “provocative statements and threats” from Western officials, which Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov characterised as reaching “unprecedented levels.”

French President Emmanuel Macron, in a recent interview with The Economist magazine, reiterated the possibility of deploying Western troops to Ukraine, underscoring the threat Russia poses to European security.

Similarly, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, during a visit to Ukraine, emphasised Ukraine’s right to defend itself using weapons supplied by the UK, condemning Russia’s illegal invasion.

The announcement of the drills comes amidst the passage of a long-delayed aid package by the United States for Kyiv, aimed at bolstering Ukraine’s military capabilities against renewed Russian aggression.

Russian forces have made significant territorial gains along Ukraine’s eastern front in recent months, exploiting their manpower and ammunition advantage before the arrival of US aid.

Putin’s invocation of nuclear rhetoric often coincides with challenges to Russia’s military objectives or increased international support for Ukraine.

After Ukraine reclaimed substantial territories in late 2022, Putin acknowledged the protracted nature of the conflict and highlighted the growing threat of nuclear war.

In February of the same year, Putin announced Russia’s suspension of the New START treaty, citing the possibility of US nuclear testing as justification, according to CNN.

While US President Joe Biden and State Department officials have sought to downplay concerns regarding Putin’s nuclear threats, they remain vigilant in monitoring Russian actions.

ALSO READ: Putin starts new six-year term with challenge to the West

Categories
-Top News EU News Europe

EU Divided on Putin’s Fifth Term Ceremony

Putin intends to take the oath for a further term in office as Russian president on Tuesday morning…reports Asian Lite News

There are considerable differences within the European Union over the correct way to handle invitations to the ceremony marking the start of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s fifth term in office.

As several EU diplomats told news agency dpa in Brussels on Monday, countries such as France, Hungary and Slovakia want to send representatives to Putin’s swearing-in ceremony in order to keep channels of dialogue open.

However, Germany and numerous other EU states consider participation to be inappropriate, particularly in view of Russia’s war against Ukraine. “Germany will not be attending this event,” a spokeswoman for the Foreign Office in Berlin said on Monday.

In Germany’s case, the government has also recalled the German ambassador in Moscow, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, to Berlin for a week of consultations following cyberattacks on the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and German companies. The German government blames a unit of the Russian military intelligence service for the attacks.

Like most ambassadors from EU member states, the European Union’s official representative in Moscow will not be present at Tuesday’s ceremony, a spokesman for the European External Action Service said late in the evening in Brussels.

Foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell had previously spoken out against the EU’s participation in the event. According to diplomats, however, there were also dissenting voices, which are said to have warned that not attending the ceremony could give Russia an excuse to ignore even more diplomatic rules and norms in future.

Putin intends to take the oath for a further term in office as Russian president on Tuesday morning. This will mark the start of six more years as head of state.

ALSO READ: Putin Orders Tactical Nuclear Exercise: Why?

Categories
-Top News Europe World

Russia Confirms Readiness For Dialogue With Ukraine

President Putin noted that Moscow is in favour of resuming negotiations, but such talks must not be aimed at “imposing any schemes that have nothing to do with reality”, reports Asian Lite News

Russian President Vladimir Putin has confirmed his readiness for dialogue with Ukraine, and that an aborted 2022 peace deal could serve as the basis for resuming the negotiation, Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

In a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday, Putin noted that Moscow is in favour of resuming negotiations, but such talks must not be aimed at “imposing any schemes that have nothing to do with reality”.

Vladimir Putin held a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in the Kremlin.

Peskov on Friday added that the “Istanbul agreements,” a draft peace pact reached in March 2022 between Russia and Ukraine, could serve as the basis for resuming talks, despite that there have been many changes since then, Xinhua news agency reported.

He said the Kremlin does not feel the Ukrainian side is ready for negotiations with Russia.

ALSO READ: Zelensky slams allies as Russia intensifies attacks

Categories
-Top News USA World

Russia Rules Out Stationing Nukes in Space

Russian President Vladimir Putin called such allegations “unfounded” and “fake narratives,” designed by the West to draw Russia into negotiations on terms that only benefit the US

Russia does not plan to deploy nuclear weapons in space, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with the country’s security council members.

“We have already discussed false allegations that are currently being made by some Western officials about our supposed plans to deploy nuclear weapons in space,” said the Kremlin on Friday, citing the President.

In his annual State of the Nation address on Thursday, Putin called such allegations “unfounded” and “fake narratives,” designed by the West to draw Russia into negotiations on terms that only benefit the US, Xinhua news agency reported.

The statement came after a wave of Western media reports claiming US intelligence data has revealed that Russia is working on the development of a nuclear space weapon.

ALSO READ: Russia Vows Vigilance Over Sweden’s NATO Entry, Promises Response

Categories
-Top News Europe USA

Zelenskyy Slams Carlson-Putin Interview as ‘Nonsense

In Carlson’s recent interview with Putin, the Russian president spouted propaganda about his country’s current war with Ukraine and went after the U.S….reports Asian Lite News

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized the recent interview between former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and Russian President Vladimir Putin, denouncing it as “two hours of nonsense” during an exclusive interview with Fox News’s “Special Report” anchored by Bret Baier, as reported by The Hill.

“I don’t have time to hear more than two hours of bull–about us, about the world, about the United States, about our relations and this interview with a killer,” Zelenskyy said during an interview in Ukraine on Fox News’s “Special Report” with anchor Bret Baier.

In Carlson’s recent interview with Putin, the Russian president spouted propaganda about his country’s current war with Ukraine and went after the U.S. The former cable TV host was quickly criticized for giving Putin a platform.

Zelenskyy’s comments also follow the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, whose passing President Biden has blamed on Putin.

“Reports of his death, if they’re true, and I have no reasons to believe they’re not–Russian authorities are going to tell their own story,” Biden said in remarks from the White House.

“But make no mistake: Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death. Putin is responsible. What has happened to Navalny is yet more proof of Putin’s brutality. No one should be fooled,” he continued.

The president also referred to Putin as a “crazy SOB,” at a fundraiser in San Francisco on Wednesday when speaking about climate change.

“This is the last existential threat, it is climate. We have a crazy SOB like that guy Putin, and others, and we always have to worry about nuclear conflict, but the existential threat to humanity is climate,” Biden said.

The Kremlin hit back at Biden for the “SOB” comment Thursday, saying that he was trying “to look like a Hollywood cowboy.”

The tensions between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States continue to escalate amidst political rhetoric and geopolitical maneuvers, underscoring the complex dynamics shaping international relations in the 21st century. (ANI)

ALSO READ: Kremlin slams Biden’s comments on Putin

Categories
-Top News Europe USA

‘Make No Mistake, Putin is Responsible’: Biden on Navalny’s Death

 Russia’s most significant opposition leader for the past decade, Alexei Navalny, has died in prison inside the Arctic Circle

US President Joe Biden said that he is “outraged” by the reported death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. He blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for Navalny’s death.

In his remarks on Navalny’s death, Biden said, “Reports of his death if they’re true and I have no reasons to believe that they’re not – Russian authorities are going to tell their own story but make no mistake Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death. Putin is responsible. What has happened to Navalny is yet more proof of Putin’s brutality no one should be fooled not in Russia not at home not anywhere in the world.

Outspoken Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny, Putin’s most formidable domestic opponent, fell unconscious and died on Friday according to state media reports.

“Putin does not only target citizens of other countries as we’ve seen what’s going on in Ukraine right now he also inflicts terrible crimes on his people and as people across Russia and around the world are mourning Navalny today because he was so many things that Putin was not,” he added.

He said Navalny “bravely stood up to the corruption the violence and all the bad things that the Putin government was doing.”

Biden stated that Navalny could have lived safely in exile. However, he returned to Russia knowing that he would likely be imprisoned or even killed if he continued to work. Putin lauded Navalny for being the powerful voice for the truth even in prison.

Biden said that like millions of people around the world, “I’m literally both not surprised and outraged by the reported death of Alexei Navalny. He bravely stood up to the corruption the violence and all the bad things that the Putin government was doing. In response, Putin had him poisoned, he had him arrested. He had him prosecuted for fabricated crimes. He sentenced him to prison he was held in isolation. Even all that didn’t stop him from calling out Putin’s lies.”

The US President said that Navalny was a powerful voice for the truth even in prison and did not fear returning to Russia.

“Even in prison, he was a powerful voice for the truth which is kind of amazing when you think about it and he could have lived safely in exile after the assassination attempt on him in 2020

which nearly killed him I might add and but he was traveling outside the country at the time. Instead, he returned to Russia knowing he’d likely be imprisoned or even killed if he continued his work but he did it anyway because he believed so deeply in his country, in Russia,” he added.

Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny

Calling him “brave, principled and dedicated to building a Russia where the rule of law existed and where it applied to everybody,” Biden said Navalny believed in Russia, a cause worth fighting for. In his remarks, he offered condolences to Navalny’s family.

Biden called for providing funding for Ukraine so that it can defend itself “against Putin’s vicious onslaughts and war crimes.” He stressed the need to reject the statements made by former US President Donald Trump that he said invited Russia to invade NATO allies if they were not paying.

He said, “Now as I’ve said before and I mean this in a literal sense history is watching the House of Representatives the failure to support Ukraine at this critical moment will never be forgotten it’s going to go down on the pages of history.”

“It is, it’s consequential and the clock is ticking and this has to happen. We have to help now you know we have to realize what we’re dealing with with Putin all of us should reject the dangerous statements made by the previous president that invited Russia to invade our NATO allies if they weren’t paying,” Biden added.

Asked whether Navalny was assassinated, Biden said, “We don’t know exactly what happened, but there’s no doubt that the death of Navalny was the consequence of something that Putin and his thugs did.”

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died in prison, Al Jazeera reported on Friday, citing state media. The death of the jailed Russian opposition leader, 47, has been reported by state media which further cited the prison service of the Yamalo-Nenets region where he had been serving his sentence.

Al Jazeera cited a statement put out by state media quoting the prison service of the Yamalo-Nenets region which said that Navalny “felt bad” after a walk and lost consciousness “almost immediately.” (ANI)

ALSO READ: Putin Plans to Double Troops Along NATO Border Post-Ukraine