WASHINGTON — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated calls for joint efforts to press North Korea, China and Iran to stop providing support for Russia’s war in Ukraine, stressing the need to bring a “just and lasting” peace in the war-torn country. Blinken made the remarks during a press conference, touching on various issues, including heightened tensions between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and the war between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza. He was in...

MOSCOW — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov declared that Russia will achieve victory in the conflict with Ukraine, which he claims has been provoked by the West.  In an interview with TASS news agency, Lavrov stressed that the West only responds to force, and Russia is unified in the face of this proxy war. “The victory is necessary. They do not understand any other language. This victory will be ours, there is no doubt. We have truly united against the...

Biden conveyed to the Indian prime minister that the US supports initiatives to reform global institutions WILMINGTON (US) — US President Joe Biden commended Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s historic visit to Ukraine last month and his message of peace, as the two leaders held wide-ranging talks that figured pressing global challenges including the situation in the war-ravaged country. The US President hosted Modi at his personal home in Wilmington, Delaware on Saturday afternoon hours after the prime minister arrived in the...

MOSCOW — Russia’s patience regarding a nuclear response to Western actions in Ukraine is wearing thin, warned Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of Russia’s security council, in a message posted on his Telegram channel. Medvedev said that while “a nuclear conflict is in no one’s interest,” Russia has thus far exercised restraint in utilising its nuclear capabilities in response to Western involvement, particularly concerning high-precision strikes deep into Russian territory. However, he cautioned that “even the greatest patience has its limits.”...

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that by providing Ukraine with long-range weapons, Western countries risk involving directly in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. In such circumstances, Russia would be forced to make “appropriate decisions” based on the new threats, Putin was quoted by Russian media as saying. Ukraine has been pleading with its Western allies for it to use their missiles, including long-range ones, to fire deep into Russian territory, according to Western media reports. “Only service people from NATO...

RIYADH — Foreign ministers from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states and Russia met in Riyadh on Monday for the GCC-Russia Joint Ministerial Meeting for Strategic Dialogue, during which they discussed GCC-Russia relations and explored ways to enhance cooperation, the Saudi Press Agency reported. Officials from the Gulf states and Russia, including Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, discussed the ongoing Ukraine crisis and the international community’s efforts to achieve a peaceful resolution. Also read: EAM Jaishankar holds bilateral meetings with...

NEW DELHI — National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is travelling to Russia this week against the backdrop of calls for India’s possible role in finding a solution to the Ukraine conflict following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visits to Moscow and Kyiv. Doval is visiting Russia primarily to attend a conclave of national security advisors of the BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) grouping that is taking place amid a renewed push for peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv to end the conflict. NSA...

KYIV — Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, one of Ukraine’s most recognisable faces on the international stage, submitted his resignation Wednesday ahead of an expected major government reshuffle. Russian strikes, meanwhile, killed seven people in a western Ukraine city, a day after one of the deadliest missile attacks since the war began. Kuleba, 43, didn’t give a reason for stepping down. His resignation will be discussed by lawmakers at their next session, parliamentary Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk said on his Facebook page....

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday said that Ukraine failed to meet its objective of its diversionary move into the Kursk region as Russian troops continued their advance in the Donbas, at a pace that has not been seen for a “long time”. “The Russian armed forces are taking control of territories not by 200, 300 metres at a time, but by square kilometres,” he said, RT reported. The President added that Ukraine’s “provocation” in Kursk would inevitably...

NEW DELHI/MOSCOW — Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin following his last week’s landmark visit to Ukraine. “Spoke with President Putin today. Discussed measures to further strengthen Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership. Exchanged perspectives on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and my insights from the recent visit to Ukraine. Reiterated India’s firm commitment to support an early, abiding and peaceful resolution of the conflict,” PM Modi posted on X after the phone call. The Kremlin said...