News Analysis India

Tag: NATO

  • Putin Mentions 'World War 3' After Claiming Landslide Election Win Without Facing Serious Competition | world news

    New Delhi: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday issued a caution to Western nations, stating that any direct engagement between Russia and the NATO forces led by the US could precipitate the globe to the brink of a third world war, a situation he believes is undesirable. tomost. The conflict in Ukraine has escalated tensions between Moscow and Western countries to levels not seen since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Despite frequently highlighting the dangers of nuclear conflict, Putin asserts that the use of nuclear arms in Ukraine has never been a necessity for him. .

    In a historic victory, President Vladimir Putin secured an unprecedented win in Russia's recent election, reinforcing his strong hold on power. This triumph, he stated, validates Moscow's stance against the West and its decision to deploy forces to Ukraine.

    Putin, who ascended to power in 1999 after a career as a KGB lieutenant colonel, emphasized that the election outcome is a clear signal to Western leaders that they must engage with a more assertive Russia for the foreseeable future.

    At 71, Putin is poised to begin a new six-year term, which could make him the longest-serving Russian leader in over two centuries, surpassing Josef Stalin.

    With an 87.8% vote share according to the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) and 87% according to the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM), Putin achieved the highest post-Soviet electoral result. Initial official results seem to confirm these figures. However, several countries including the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom have questioned the election's integrity, citing political detentions and media restrictions.

    The Communist contender Nikolai Kharitonov came in second with nearly 4%, followed by the newcomer Vladislav Davankov, and the ultra-nationalist Leonid Slutsky, as indicated by preliminary results.

    In his victory address in Moscow, Putin pledged to focus on the challenges linked to Russia's ongoing military actions in Ukraine and to bolster the Russian armed forces. Putin declared to his audience that unity is Russia's strength, and that no adversary has ever, or will ever, succeed in intimidating or subduing them.

    The crowd erupted into chants of “Putin” and “Russia” as he took the stage and concluded his speech.

    Despite the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in an Arctic prison, which sparked protests against Putin across Russia and internationally, Putin dismissed the impact of these demonstrations on the election results, calling Russia's electoral process democratic.

    Addressing Navalny's death for the first time, Putin expressed sorrow and revealed that he had been open to a prisoner exchange involving Navalny shortly before his passing.

  • Sweden Set To Join NATO; Check European Country’s Bumpy Road To NATO Membership | world news

    STOCKHOLM: Sweden’s bid to join NATO — held up for almost two years — cleared its last hurdle when Hungary gave its go-ahead Monday to let the Nordic country into the alliance.It brought an end to more than 18 months of delays by the nationalist. government in Budapest that have frustrated Hungary’s allies.All existing NATO countries must give their approval before a new member can join the alliance. Hungary was the only hold-out. Here is a look at Sweden’s complicated path toward NATO membership:

    WHY DOES SWEDEN WANT TO JOIN NATO?

    Sweden has stayed out of military alliances for more than 200 years and long ruled out seeking NATO membership. But after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, it ditched its longstanding policy of nonalignment almost overnight and decided to apply to join the alliance together with neighboring Finland. Both Sweden and Finland, which joined the military alliance last year, had already developed strong ties with NATO after the end of the Cold War, but public opinion remained firmly against full membership until the war in Ukraine.

    Nonalignment was seen as the best way to avoid tensions with Russia, their powerful neighbor in the Baltic Sea region. But the Russian aggression caused a dramatic shift in both countries, with polls showing a surge in support for NATO membership. Political parties in both Finland and Sweden decided they needed the security guarantees that only come with full membership in the US-led alliance.

    WHY IS IT TAKING SO LONG?

    While Finland became NATO’s 31st member in April, Sweden’s application has been held up. All alliance members but Turkey and Hungary gave their thumbs up.On Jan. 23, Turkish legislators voted in favor of Sweden’s membership in NATO. To let Sweden join, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan put forth a series of conditions including a tougher stance toward groups that Turkey regards as threats to its security, such as Kurdish militants and members of a network it blames for a failed coup in 2016. the Swedish government tried to appease Erdogan by lifting an arms embargo on Turkey and promising to cooperate on fighting terrorism, public demonstrations in Sweden by supporters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and by anti-Muslim activists who burned the Quran complicated the situation.

    Pressure from the US and other NATO allies on Turkey to remove its objections to Swedish membership appeared to have little effect until Erdogan said at a NATO summit last year that he would send the documents to Parliament for approval. But the issue was held up in Parliament until lawmakers finally held a vote on the issue and ratified Sweden’s accession protocol. The Turkish government finalized the step by publishing the measure in an official gazette.

    Now the parliament in Hungary has ratified Sweden’s bid to join NATO, bringing an end to more than 18 months of delays by the nationalist government. Initially, Hungary didn’t give any clear reason for its delays and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán long insisted that his country wouldn’t be the last to give approval. But the tone toward Stockholm hardened last year, with Hungary accusing Swedish politicians of telling “blatant lies” about the condition of Hungary’s democracy. Orbán has broken ranks with NATO allies by adopting a Kremlin-friendly stance toward Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

    WHAT WOULD SWEDEN BRING TO THE ALLIANCE?

    The inclusion of Sweden would leave the Baltic Sea almost surrounded by NATO countries, strengthening the alliance in the strategically important region. The Baltic Sea is Russia’s maritime point of access to the city of St. Petersburg and the Kaliningrad enclave.Sweden’s armed forces, though sharply downsized since the Cold War, are widely seen as a potential boost to NATO’s collective defense in the region. The Swedes have a modern air force and navy and have committed to increase defense spending to reach NATO’s target of 2% of gross domestic product.Like the Finns, Swedish forces have for years participated in joint exercises with NATO.

    HOW HAS RUSSIA REACTED?

    Not surprisingly, Moscow reacted negatively to Sweden and Finland’s decision to abandon nonalignment and seek NATO membership, and warned of unspecified countermeasures. Russia said the move adversely affected the security situation in Northern Europe, which it said “had previously been one of the most stable regions in the world.”Earlier this year, Sweden’s top military commander Gen. Micael Bydén said all Swedes should mentally prepare for the possibility of war, and on Feb. 19, Thomas Nilsson, head of Sweden’s external intelligence service, MUST, said that “the situation has continued to deteriorate during 2023.” “In the event of NATO membership, we must have the capability through an alliance to counter a revanchist and unpredictable Russia,” the agency said in its assessment. Both Sweden and Finland have warned of an increased risk of Russian interference and hybrid attacks.

  • Ukrainian airspace closed; Air India plane enroute to Kyiv called back

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: An Air India plane that took off for Kyiv in Ukraine on Thursday morning to bring back Indians from the eastern European nation is returning to Delhi due to the closure of Ukrainian airspace amid the Russian military offensive.

    After the Air India flight had departed from Delhi on Thursday morning, the Ukrainian authorities issued a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen), which stated that flights of civil aircraft within Ukraine “are restricted due to potential hazard for civil aviation”.

    Air India and the central government then decided to call back the plane to Delhi, officials said, adding that the plane took an about turn in the Iranian airspace to return to Delhi.

    An airline spokesperson said the Air India flight AI 1947 is returning as a NOTAM has been issued at Kyiv.

    The flight started from the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) here at around 7.30 am for Boryspil International Airport in Kyiv.

    Meanwhile, a Ukraine International Airlines flight from Kyiv landed at the Delhi airport at around 7.45 am on Thursday.

    “There were 182 Indian nationals onboard the flight and majority of them were students. A couple of more flights have been scheduled,” Anju Wariah, Director at STIC Group, said.

    The group is the General Sales Agent (GSA) for Ukraine International Airlines in India.

    After weeks of rising tensions, Russia on Thursday announced a military operation against Ukraine.

    Air India’s Thursday flight was scheduled to be the second flight to bring back Indians from the eastern European nation.

    The first flight, operated on February 22, brought back around 240 people.

    On February 19, Air India announced that it would operate three flights between India and Ukraine on February 22, 24 and 26.

  • Afghan crisis: India brings back 146 evacuated citizens from Doha 

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: India on Monday brought back 146 of its nationals in four different flights from Qatar’s capital Doha, days after they were evacuated from Afghanistan by NATO and American aircraft in view of the deteriorating security situation in the war-torn country.

    People familiar with the development said the Indians were flown back to Delhi as part of India’s mission to evacuate its citizens and Afghan partners from Kabul following its takeover by the Taliban over a week back, they said.

    It was the second batch of Indians to be brought back from Doha after their evacuation from Kabul.

    A total of 135 Indians were flown back to Delhi from Doha in a special flight on Sunday.

    Out of the second batch of Indians who returned home from Doha, 104 people were brought back in a Vistara flight, 30 by a Qatar Airways flight and 11 of them returned by an Indigo flight.

    One person returned by an Air India flight, they said.

    India on Sunday brought back 392 people including two Afghan lawmakers in three different flights under the evacuation mission amid a continued scramble by various countries to rescue their citizens from Kabul.

    The total number of people evacuees included the first batch of 135 Indians who were flown back from Doha.

    It is learnt that the Indians evacuated to Doha from Kabul were employees of a number of foreign companies that were operating in Afghanistan and they were flown out of Kabul by NATO and American aircraft.

    The Taliban seized control of Kabul on August 15.

    Within two days of the Taliban’s capture of Kabul, India evacuated 200 people, including the Indian envoy and other staffers of its embassy in the Afghan capital.

    The first evacuation flight brought back over 40 people, mostly staffers at the Indian embassy, on August 16.

    The second aircraft evacuated around 150 people including Indian diplomats, officials, security personnel and some stranded Indians from Kabul on August 17.

    The Taliban swept across Afghanistan this month, seizing control of almost all key towns and cities, including Kabul, in the backdrop of the withdrawal of the US forces.

  • India allowed to operate two flights daily to evacuate citizens from Kabul; Jaishankar reaches out to German counterpart

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: India has been allowed to operate two flights per day from Kabul to evacuate its nationals stranded in Afghanistan, government sources told ANI.

    The permission has been granted by the American and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces which have been controlling operations of the Hamid Karzai International Airport after the Afghan capital fell to the Taliban on August 15.

    Two Indian aircraft would be permitted to operate from the Kabul airport which is under the control of American security forces, government sources told ANI.

    A total of 25 flights are being operated by them as they, at present, focusing on evacuating their citizens, weaponry and equipment.

    More than 300 Indian nationals have to be taken out of Kabul which is now under the Taliban’s control. India is airlifting its citizens through Dushanbe in Tajikistan and Qatar.

    A flight of Air India is expected to land in India shortly with around 90 passengers. The Indian passengers were apparently taken out from Kabul in a C130J aircraft.

    The first aircraft of India was allowed to operate from Kabul after National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval interacted with his US counterpart Jake Sullivan to facilitate the movement of Indian officials inside the American security zone at the airport.

    ALSO READ | ‘We hope they mean what they say’: PM Boris Johnson says UK will work with Taliban if necessary

    The Indian Air Force has already evacuated around 180 passengers including its ambassador to Afghanistan and all other diplomats.

    On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) and instructed all concerned officials to undertake all necessary measures to ensure the safe evacuation of Indian nationals from Afghanistan in the coming days.

    Meanwhile, the MEA has said the government is committed to the safe return of all Indian nationals from Afghanistan. The MEA said that the main challenge for travel to and from Afghanistan is the operational status of the Kabul airport.

    Taliban entered Kabul on Sunday and took control of the presidential palace. The Indian government has been closely monitoring all developments in Afghanistan.

    A group of Indian nationals is learnt to have been stopped and taken to an unknown location near the Kabul airport on Saturday for questioning and verification of travel documents, triggering some confusion and concerns in India.

    These Indians were learnt to have been released subsequently.

    People tracking the developments in Kabul said there were no specific reports of any harm to Indians in Kabul so far.

    The Indians were among 150 people who were heading towards the Kabul airport when they were stopped by Taliban fighters, according to Afghan media reports.

    Kabul Now news portal initially reported that the group was “abducted” by the Taliban fighters but it later updated the report saying all the people were released and on their way back to the Kabul airport.

    The people cited above said the Indians were taken away for questioning and it is not unusual under the current circumstances.

    There was no immediate official comment or reaction on the matter.

    Meanwhile, India on Saturday evacuated around 80 Indian nationals from Kabul by a transport military aircraft of the Indian Air Force.

    The aircraft landed at Dushanbe in Tajikistan after evacuating the Indians from Kabul, they said, adding it is expected to arrive at Hindon airbase near Delhi in the evening.

    India has already evacuated 200 people including the ambassador and other staffers of its embassy in Kabul in two C-17 heavy-lift transport aircraft of the IAF after the Taliban seized control of Kabul on Sunday.

    The first evacuation flight brought back over 40 people, mostly staffers at the Indian embassy, on Monday.

    The second C-17 aircraft evacuated around 150 people including Indian diplomats, officials, security personnel and some stranded Indians from Kabul on Tuesday.

    External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday spoke to his German counterpart Heiko Maas on the latest developments in Afghanistan and challenges relating to emergency evacuation from Kabul.

    “Appreciate the call from Foreign Minister @HeikoMaas of Germany. Discussed the evacuation challenges in Afghanistan and the policy implications of the changes there,” Jaishankar tweeted.

    India has been in touch with the US, the UK and a number of other leading powers on the fast-evolving situation in Afghanistan after Kabul fell to the Taliban on Sunday evening.

    Several countries including India have been facing difficulties in evacuating people from Kabul in view of chaos around the airport in the Afghan capital following the Taliban takeover.

    India on Saturday evacuated around 80 Indian nationals from Kabul by a transport military aircraft of the Indian Air Force.

    ALSO READ | Taliban bans co-education in Afghanistan’s Herat province: Report

    The aircraft landed at Dushanbe in Tajikistan after evacuating the Indians from Kabul.

    By Tuesday, India had evacuated 200 people, including the Indian envoy and other staffers of its embassy in Kabul, in two C-17 heavy-lift transport aircraft of the IAF.

    The first evacuation flight brought back over 40 people, mostly staffers at the Indian embassy, on Monday.

    The second C-17 aircraft evacuated around 150 people including Indian diplomats, officials, security personnel and some stranded Indians from Kabul on Tuesday.

    Abdullah Abdullah, Hamid Karzai meet Taliban acting Kabul governor, US-allied Afghan force personnel being hunted

    Abdullah Abdullah, a senior leader of the ousted Afghan government, and former Afghan President Hamid Karzai met ‘so-called’ acting Taliban governor of Kabul, Abdul Rahman Mansour, on Saturday. They discussed the priority of protecting the lives, property and dignity of Kabul citizens.

    Abdullah told the Taliban’s acting Kabul governor that “In order to return to normality in the capital Kabul, it is imperative that citizens…feel safe and secure,” according to a statement by Abdullah Abdullah’s office.

    The acting governor pledged to “do everything possible for the security of the people of Kabul,” Abdullah’s office said.

    Afghanistan is witnessing its worst-ever crisis in decades as the Taliban’s control has forced people to flee the nation in afraid of their atrocities. The country has been marred by violence for several years and the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul has exacerbated the crisis.

    Afghans have flocked to the Kabul airport in order to flee the Taliban. Terrorists on the streets of Kabul are reportedly preventing people from entering the airport using force.

    Several reports of Taliban violence have emerged in recent days. This comes despite the Taliban have claimed they have reformed and vowed to respect the rights of women and minorities.

    The Taliban have been attempting to convince the world that they will sever ties with terror groups like al-Qaeda after they are back in power in Afghanistan after 20 years and needs the world’s recognition and approbation, a media report said.

    ALSO READ | IAF flight evacuates over 85 Indians from Kabul amid Taliban crisis

    The Taliban’s long history of association with terror groups and their family-based relations with terrorists of other groups have raised severe questions about the Taliban’s commitment during the Doha agreement that they would not provide safe heavens to any terrorist in Afghanistan.

    While thousands of Afghan security force members have managed to flee from Afghanistan to other countries such as Iran and Uzbekistan as the Taliban seized the country but tens of thousands of Afghan soldiers and commandos are still on the run and being hunted by the terror group.

    Matthew Rosenberg writing in The New York Times said that over the past few weeks columns of Afghan soldiers in armoured vehicles and pickup trucks sped through the desert to reach Iran and military pilots flew low and fast to the safety of Uzbekistan’s mountains.

    “Others managed to negotiate surrenders and went back to their homes — and some kept their weapons and joined the winning side,” he said further in the NYT.

    Tens of thousands of other Afghan soldiers, commandos and spies have been left behind. They are now on the run, hiding and hunted by the Taliban, he wrote .

    “There’s no way out,” the media outlet reported qouting Farid, an Afghan commando. He added that he was hiding in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan, trapped after the regular army units surrendered around him. “I am praying to be saved.”

    Reports said that Taliban have been searching for people who they believe worked with and fought alongside United States and NATO forces.

    The New York Times reported that said that there is no such data that how many Afghan soldiers and security officials are on the run. Dozens of Afghan pilots escaped to Uzbekistan, where 22 planes and 24 helicopters carrying nearly 600 men arrived on Sunday, according to Uzbek officials; an unknown number made it to Iran, former Afghan officials said.

    ALSO READ | Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in Kabul for talks on setting up govt: Official

    A number of former government officials have disappeared in the country including a provincial Governor and police personnel, Tolo News reported citing the families of missing officials.

    On contrary, Taliban spokesman had informed that the group has forgiven people who had worked in the military or civilian sector with the previous government.

    Efforts are being made to maintain stability in Afghanistan. However, people are rushing to the airport to flee the nation as they are afraid of the terror group’s brutal atrocities in the nation.

    Countries from all across the world have been evacuating their citizens fastly as Afghanistan’s future is hanging in balance. The US State Department on Thursday said that it has airlifted more than 7,000 evacuees since Saturday.

    The Taliban leaders are discussing future government plans in Afghanistan and are in touch with intra-Afghan parties.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • ‘Words like Asian NATO for Quad is a mind-game’: Jaishankar

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  The Indo-Pacific construct was not about reinforcing the Cold War but about overcoming it, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday.

    “The idea that when we come together and there is some sort of a threat or messaging to others, I think people need to get over this. Using words like ‘Asian NATO’, etc is a mindgame which people are playing,” Jaishankar said, stressing that the Quad o r Quadilateral Security Dialogue was not ‘Asian NATO and that India never had NATO mentality.

    “I can’t have other people have a veto about what am going to discuss, with whom I’m going to discuss, how much I’m going to contribute to the world. That’s my national choice. That kind of NATO mentality has never been India’s. If it has been there in Asia before I think it’s in other countries and regions, not in mine.”

    The minister was speaking at the Raisina Dialogue 2021 in a panel discussion ‘Crimson Tide, Blur Geometrics: New Partnerships for Indo-Pacific’ with his French counterpart Jean-Yves La Drian and Australian Foreign Minister Marise Paine.

    Elaborating his point that Quad was not an Asian NATO, Jaishankar spelt out 10 subjects including vaccine collaboration and climate action that the grouping had discussed so far.

    On the Indo-Pacific, he said that the region is a return to history.

    “It reflects a more contemporary world. It is actually overcoming the Cold War, not reinforcing it,” he added.

    Le Drian said the security in the Indo-Pacific region is very important while Payne said that Australia has a practical approach to the region.

    Perception of being ‘anti-China’ front

    Quad is a grouping comprising India, Australia, the US and Japan and is often perceived to be formed to keep China’s assertiveness and aggression in check in the South China Sea. 

  • Quad won’t be military alliance but there will be military cooperation: Army Chief

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Army Chief Gen MM Naravane Thursday said there will be military cooperation among the member nations of the Quad but it will not be a military alliance like NATO.

    His comments came two weeks after the top leadership of the Quad grouping of India, the US, Japan and Australia vowed to expand cooperation in the Indo-Pacific at a time China was increasing its military assertiveness in the region.

    “It will not be a military alliance. There will definitely be military cooperation, both bilaterally between the countries of the Quad and as a quadrilateral also. But it would not be a military alliance in that sense,” the Army Chief said.

    He was replying to a question at the India Economic Conclave.

    “The Quad is actually supposed to be a quadrilateral security dialogue. We keep calling it Quad but the actual aim of that was a security dialogue and this will of course have security part of it,” he said.

    “But in this, every country will still be looking at its own interest,” he said adding Quad will not be a NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation).

    In their first summit under Quad framework, leaders of India, the US, Japan and Australia deliberated on March 12 on expanding cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region and focused on a coronavirus vaccine initiative to effectively deal with the pandemic.

    The four Quad member countries have been resolving to uphold a rules-based international order in the Indo-Pacific.

    Gen Naravane also said that the Quad is not focused against any particular country.

    “I do not think Quad is aimed at any particular country. That would be a wrong message if at all it has been viewed that way. It is an alliance of like-minded democratic countries who have shared values and who believe in an international order that is based on rules and regulations,” he said.

    The evolving situation in the Indo-Pacific region in the wake of China’s increasing military muscle-flexing has become a major talking point among leading global powers.

    The Army Chief also referred to reports of China sending more than 200 fishing vessels into the territorial waters of the Philippines, saying Beijing is trying to bulldoze their way and change the status quo.

    “They are trying to unilaterally force their way and change the status quo. Trying to bulldoze their way and that is not going to be acceptable to any self-respecting country,” he said.

    “All these countries are now realising that they need to take a stand and safeguard their interests,” he said.