Page 21 - India Russia

Pope Francis' 'white flag' comment met with criticism from Ukraine, allies

Ukrainian and allied officials Sunday criticised Pope Francis for saying that Kyiv should have the courage to negotiate an end to the war with Russia, a statement many interpreted as a call for Ukraine to surrender. The foreign ministers of Ukraine and Poland, a vocal ally of Kyiv, condemned the pope's remarks. And a leader of one of Ukraine's Christian churches on Sunday said that only the country's determined resistance to Moscow's full-scale invasion, launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Feb 24, 2022, had prevented a mass slaughter of civilians. In an interview recorded last month with Swiss broadcaster RSI and partially released on Saturday, Francis used the phrase the courage of the white flag as he argued that Ukraine, facing a possible defeat, should be open to peace talks brokered by international powers. Our flag is blue and yellow. We live, die and win under it. We will not raise other flags, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba posted on Sunday on X, former

MEA raises concerns over Indians working as support staff for Russian army

Several Indian nationals have been duped to work with the Russian Army and India has strongly taken up the matter with the Russian government for their early discharge, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said strong action has been initiated against agents and unscrupulous elements who recruited the Indians on false pretexts and promises. "The CBI yesterday busted a major human trafficking network conducting searches in several cities and collecting incriminating evidence. A case of human trafficking has been registered against several agents," Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing. "We once again appeal to Indian nationals to not be swayed by offers made by agents for support jobs with the Russian Army. This is fraught with danger and risk to life," he said. Jaiswal said India remains committed to ensure early release of the Indian nationals serving as support staff to the Russian Army. "We remain committed to the early rel

India busts trafficking racket duping people into fighting for Russia

The traffickers, operating across several Indian states, targeted people using social media platforms and through local agents, the CBI said in a statement

Russia-Ukraine war: 7 Indians tricked into joining Russian Army, seek help

A group of Indians alleged that they got tricked into joining the Russian military and were sent to fight in the war against Ukraine

YouTube channel linked to Indians falsely drafted in Russian army: Details

The Centre said last week that several Indians hired as support staff to the Russian army were discharged following India's demand

India looks elsewhere for oil as latest US sanctions crimp Russia trade

India's refiners are keen to take more Russian oil, but there would need to be US approval for buying to ramp up again, the executives said, asking not to be identified because the information is priv

Russia's luxury hotels eye Indian hospitality firms for revival plans

Traditional management contracts and franchising agreements are among the potential collaboration models being explored

US sanctions on Russia's oil-shipping firms may leave India at sea

Washington is chipping away at the so-called shadow fleet that transports oil to China, India and Turkiye among others

Russian crude oil traders come up with ways to sidestep US sanctions

Russian barrels are not sanctioned for countries like India, but if the ships they are delivered on come under sanctions then India cannot buy such shipments

Jaishankar reaffirms India's stance on buying Russian oil despite sanctions

In an interview with the German economic daily, Handelsblatt, Jaishankar stated that Europe should understand that India cannot have a view of Russia that is identical to the European one

Houthi attacks on Russian oil tankers complicate things for Indian refiners

Houthi attacks on Russian crude deliveries coincide with escalating US actions on ships carrying such crude, leading to double trouble for India

In today's Russia, free spirits are sent to Gulag: French President Macron

Reacting to the reported death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, French President Emmanuel Macron said that free spirits are sent to the Gulag and condemned to death in today's Russia

India resumes buying Russian Sokol oil after 2-month hiatus: Report

India did not receive Sokol oil in December and January, data from trade sources and the ship tracking data shows

New US sanctions target India's biggest crude grades from Russia

Urals and Sokol accounted for every 4 out of 5 barrels of Russian supplies to India last year

Russia, West clash over Ukraine at UNSC meeting ahead of war anniversary

Russia accused the West on Monday of sabotaging agreements that would have prevented the war in Ukraine -- but the US and its allies put the blame squarely on Moscow, saying there is no escaping that President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of its smaller neighbour. Days before the second anniversary of Russia's invasion on February 24, 2022, Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia again put the cause of the war down to the failure to implement the 2015 Minsk agreements, which he blamed on "Kyiv's sabotage" supported by the West. The agreements aimed to resolve the conflict between Ukraine and Russia-backed separatists that flared in April 2014 after Russia's annexation of Crimea and its support for the separatists in the mostly Russian-speaking industrial east called Donbas. At Monday's Security Council meeting that Russia called on the seventh anniversary of the signing of the Minsk peace plan brokered by France and Germany, Nebenzia called claims by Ukraine and Western natio

Russian envoy Denis Alipov advocates permanent seat for India at UNSC

India and Russia have maintained a robust strategic partnership, rooted in historical ties and shared interests, over decades

India's Russian oil import hits 12-mth low, long-term appetite intact

India's crude oil imports from Russia fell for a second straight month in January to its lowest in 12 months but the nation's insatiable appetite for Russian crude remains for the long term, according to data from energy cargo tracker and industry officials. Russia supplied 1.2 million barrels per day of crude oil to India in January, down from 1.32 million barrels in December and 1.62 million barrels in November 2023, according to data from energy cargo tracker Vortexa. Russia however continues to remain India's top oil supplier, accounting for a little less than a quarter of 4.91 million barrels a day of oil that the world's third largest energy consumer imported in January. The decline in cargoes from Russia was made up by increased sourcing from Iraq, which supplied 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd) in January, up from 985,000 bpd in the previous month. Supplies from Saudi Arabia declined to 659,000 bpd from 668,000 bpd in December. India is more than 85 per cent dependent on .

Russia's energy elite, Indian govt officials try to keep oil flowing

Oil imports from Russia, negligible before Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, climbed steadily through 2022 and the first half of last year as India saw an opportunity to procure discounted barrels

ICJ set to decide if it can hear Ukraine's genocide case against Russia

The International Court of Justice is ruling Friday on whether it has jurisdiction to hear a case filed by Ukraine in the days after Russia's invasion accusing Moscow of breaching the genocide convention. In the highly-charged case, Kyiv claims that Russia breached the landmark 1948 convention by using trumped-up claims of genocide in the eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk as a pretext for attacking Ukraine nearly two years ago. Ukraine also accuses Moscow of planning acts of genocide. Moscow rejects the allegations and argued last year that the court should throw out the case before even considering the merits of Kyiv's claims. At hearings in September, the leader of Moscow's legal team, Gennady Kuzmin, called Ukraine's case hopelessly flawed and at odds with the longstanding jurisprudence of this court. In order for the court to have jurisdiction, Ukraine has to establish that it has a dispute with Russia over the genocide convention. A member of Moscow's legal team, Sienho

India-US cooperation can strengthen rules-based world order: Rajnath Singh

Rajnath Singh was addressing the Special Session of the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce in New Delhi