Ahead of 24 February, the 2nd anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the European Ministerial delegation at the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi encouraged India to press the case for Ukraine’s sovereignty and reevaluate trade and connections with Russia. During their meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, the 15 foreign ministers from Europe urged India to join the upcoming peace conference to be held in Switzerland at the request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
On Thursday, Albanian Foreign Minister Igli Hasani announced that Albania will soon open an embassy in New Delhi. Additionally, he informed that India was planning to have a diplomatic mission in Tirana. During the Raisina Dialogue, Hasani presented the case for Albania as being an important location in the upcoming India-Middle East-Europe-Economic Corridor (IMEC) that connects Europe with Asia. He also called for stronger ties between Albania and India.
In order to equip Indian Navy vessels with more than 200 BrahMos extended-range supersonic cruise missiles, the Cabinet Committee on Security gave its approval to a $2.3 billion project on Wednesday. The BrahMos Aerospace and Ministry of Defence are scheduled to sign the contract for the same during the first week of March.
The US, Britain, France, and Germany are supporting Dutch PM Mark Rutte as the Secretary-General of NATO, media sources reported on Thursday. The term of current NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg ends in October. “President (Joe) Biden strongly endorses PM Rutte’s candidacy to be the next Secretary General of NATO,” a US official said. “PM Rutte has a deep understanding of the importance of the alliance, is a natural leader and communicator, and his leadership would serve the Alliance well at this critical time,” the official added.
US President Joe Biden announced Thursday that he would impose sanctions directly on Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, calling him “responsible” for the death of opposition leader Alexey Navalny. Biden made the statement in San Francisco just after meeting with Navalny’s wife and daughter. “I had the honor of meeting with his wife and daughter and to state the obvious that he was a man of incredible courage,” Biden stated. “We’re gonna be announcing sanctions against Putin, who is responsible for his death, tomorrow,” the US President added.
The US is warning Russia against deploying a new nuclear-armed anti-satellite missile, which would violate the Outer Space Treaty and jeopardise US national security interests, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Thursday. The WSJ cited several US sources as saying that one of the channels involved NSA Jake Sullivan and Yuri Ushakov, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy adviser. Officials have been attempting to coordinate international support against a potential launch, notably by pushing China, India, and G-7 nations into giving their warnings, it added.