India's relations with Russia 'steady', says Jaishankar
Washington (PTI): India's relations with Russia may not be "spectacular" but the two countries have a "steady" relationship, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday while predicting that Moscow will focus more on Asia as its ties with the West have "broken up".
Jaishankar said this in response to a question during his appearance at the prestigious Hudson Institute think-tank when asked about India's relations with Russia amidst the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Asserting that every major international relationship in the last 70 years has seen great volatility, the minister pointed out that the relationship between New Delhi and Moscow has largely been stable.
"India, Russia are very exceptional. It's been very steady. It may not be spectacular. So, it may have stabilised at a certain level," he said.
Commenting on Russia's ties with the world due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, Jaishankar said, "I think as a consequence of what is going on in Ukraine, it seems to be clear that in many ways Russia's relationship with the West has broken up and in that case, it's logical that Russia focuses more on the Asian side of Russia, though historically Russia has always seen itself as a European power."
"I would predict Russia, which would consciously focus on the non-western world, away from Europe, away from the United States, and look much more at Asia, possibly at other regions as well, but Asia is economically the most active," he added.
He added that a "reinvention" of Russia is happening as a consequence of what is happening in Ukraine.
Jaishankar is currently on a five-day official trip to Washington DC.
He met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken State Department on Thursday, which was the highest-level interaction between the two countries after the recent G-20 Summit in New Delhi when President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met.
Jaishankar arrived here from New York on Wednesday after addressing the 78th General Assembly session of the United Nations on Tuesday.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
