Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Ukraine: Russia praises India's stand

Ukraine: Russia praises India's stand

RUSSIA has praised India's "independent and balanced" position after Delhi abstained from a UN Security Council vote that deplored Moscow's "aggression" against Ukraine.

India, along with China and the UAE, did not vote on the resolution Friday (25), a move in line with the fine balance Delhi has sought to strike between partnerships with Moscow and Western allies.


The Russian embassy in India welcomed India's stand on Saturday (26).

"Highly appreciate India's independent and balanced position at the voting in the UNSC," it said on Twitter.

"In the spirit of the special and privileged strategic partnership, Russia is committed to maintain close dialogue with India on the situation around Ukraine."

Despite being the world's largest democracy and a member of the "Quad" grouping with Australia, Japan and the US, India has neither explicitly condemned Moscow's actions, nor called them an invasion so far.

New Delhi and Moscow were close throughout the Cold War, a relationship that endures to this day, and Russia continues to be India's biggest arms supplier.

The US has been in discussions with India over its position on Ukraine, and on Saturday it urged Delhi to use its influence with Russia to "protect the rules-based international order".

"India and Russia have a relationship, including in the defence and security sector, that we don't have," US state department spokesman Ned Price told reporters.

"We have asked every country that has a relationship and certainly those countries that have leverage to use that leverage in a constructive way."

Since the assault, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi has spoken with both Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and Russia's Vladimir Putin, expressing concern over the violence.

Critics have been forthright in condemning India's balancing act.

"India's careful, avoid angering Putin at all costs response despite Russia's blatant aggression vs Ukraine highlights that it remains unprepared to step up to major power responsibilities or be a dependable partner," foreign relations expert Richard Haass tweeted.

"Disappointing as well as short-sighted given rise of China."

The diplomatic frenzy comes as India embarks on an air evacuation exercise for thousands of its students stranded in Ukraine after the Russian assault on the capital Kyiv and other cities.

On Saturday, the first batch of some 200 Indian students that arrived on a special flight expressed relief and joy after touchdown in Mumbai.

"I was in Chernovitsky city which is in the west of Ukraine so it was considered safest but a town near us got bombed and we were scared if we were the next to be bombed," said Rutuja Kamble, a medical student.

(AFP)

More For You

King Charles

King Charles, wearing a black armband to pay respects to the victims of Air India plane crash, attends the Trooping the Colour parade on his official birthday in London. (Photo: Reuters)

Air India crash: Victims remembered during King Charles's birthday parade

A MINUTE's silence for the victims of the Air India plane crash was observed on Saturday during the Trooping the Colour parade in London marking King Charles's official birthday. Some members of the royal family wore black armbands during the ceremony.

A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said King Charles, 76, had requested changes to the parade “as a mark of respect for the lives lost, the families in mourning and all the communities affected by this awful tragedy”.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rochdale grooming case

They were all remanded in custody, except Bashir, who absconded before the trial began. (Photo: Greater Manchester Police)

Seven men convicted of raping 13-year-old girls in Rochdale grooming case

SEVEN men were convicted on Friday in the UK’s latest grooming trial, after a jury heard that two girl victims were forced to have sex “with multiple men on the same day, in filthy flats and on rancid mattresses”.

Jurors at the court in Manchester, northwest England, deliberated for three weeks before finding the seven men, all of whom are of South Asian descent, guilty of rape.

Keep ReadingShow less
karan-thakar

Karun Thakar is a leading textile collector with a lifelong focus on Asian and African textiles

Karun Collection

Karun Thakar Fund to support textile research with scholarships and grants

THE KARUN THAKAR FUND, established by textile collector Karun Thakar in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), supports the study of Asian and African textiles and dress through scholarships and project grants.

The fund offers one-time Scholarship Awards of up to £10,000 for university students worldwide focusing on any aspect of Asian or African textiles and dress. Undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students from any accredited university are eligible, provided their research or practice is clearly linked to these areas. The next round of Scholarship Award applications opens on 1 May 2025 and closes at 23:59 on July 15, 2025.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air India

A view shows the wreckage of the tail section of an Air India aircraft, bound for London's Gatwick Airport, which crashed during take-off from airport in Ahmedabad. (Photo: Reuters)

Air India crash: Probe focuses on engine and flaps; safety checks ordered for 787 fleet

THE INVESTIGATION into the Air India crash that killed more than 240 people is focusing on the aircraft's engine, flaps, and landing gear.

The Indian aviation regulator has ordered safety checks on the airline’s entire Boeing 787 fleet, reported Reuters.

Keep ReadingShow less