Foreign ministers of India, Ukraine discuss ongoing crisis
Darpan News Desk IANS, 25 Feb, 2022 02:21 PM
New Delhi, Feb 25 (IANS) External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba on Friday discussed the prevailing situation in the east European country which is under attack from Russia, along with the measures to evacuate stranded Indian nationals from there.
"Received call from Ukrainian FM @DmytroKuleba. He shared his assessment of the current situation. I emphasised that India supports diplomacy and dialogue as the way out," Jaishankar tweeted.
The minister also stated that they discussed the predicament of Indian nationals, including students.
"Appreciate his support for their safe return," Jaishankar said.
Earlier in the day, US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, spoke to Jaishankar and called for collective response over the ongoing crisis.
Blinken tweeted, "Spoke with @DrSJaishankar today about the crisis in Ukraine and the importance of a strong collective response to Russian aggression. Russia's attack on Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity is a clear violation of the rules-based international order."
The spokesperson for the US Secretary of State, Ned Price, said, "Antony Blinken spoke with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar today to discuss Russia's premeditated, unprovoked, and unjustified attack on Ukraine."
Price also stated that Blinken stressed the importance of a strong, collective response to condemn Russia's invasion and call for immediate force withdrawal and ceasefire.
On Thursday, India's Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla had stated that Jaishankar has spoken to concerned officials in Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia for setting up camps on the border areas for evacuation of stranded Indian nationals.
India is working out evacuation plans through Romania, Hungary and Poland, after Ukraine shut its airspace soon after the Russian military operation began on Thursday.
The Chief Minister said in line with the scheme, eye camps would be organised throughout the state where the eye sight of the people would be thoroughly checked and those found suffering from the cataract problem would be operated upon after a period of 15 days.
A Delhi court on Thursday directed Delhi Police to file an Action Taken Report (ATR) on a petition seeking an FIR against Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar for his alleged controversial remarks against the protesting farmers.
The Uttar Pradesh government has given a six months' extension to the special investigation team (SIT) probing the anti-Sikh riots of 1984. The SIT had sought extension and the state government has given time to the SIT to complete the investigation and make arrests by May 2022.
This comes just days after the COP26 climate summit, where India pledged to cut emissions to net zero by 2070, reduce carbon emissions by one billion tonnes by 2030, and raise the share of renewables in the energy mix to 50 per cent, among others, before staging a last-minute climbdown opposing a commitment to "phase out" coal.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday appointed Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain, a former judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court, to monitor the Lakhimpur Kheri violence probe and to ensure fairness and independence in the investigation.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday junked petitions against the Punjab and Haryana High Court order, which upheld the appointment of Dinkar Gupta as Punjab Director General of Police.
