In phone call, Xi and Putin 'strongly condemn' Israeli strikes on Iran; call for immediate ceasefire
Beijing/Moscow, Jun 19 (PTI): Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Thursday strongly condemned Israeli strikes on Iran and called for an immediate ceasefire, "especially" by Israel, and an end to attacks on civilians.
In a phone call, Xi discussed the Israel-Iran conflict with Putin and said a ceasefire is an urgent priority in settling the conflict in West Asia, and the use of force is not the right way to resolve international disputes.
This was Xi's first comment on the current conflict in the region, amid US President Donald Trump's warning to Iran and Israel's threat to target Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Presidents Putin and Xi "in their hour-long phone call have agreed to issue orders to their relevant agencies to share information on Iran,” Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said in Moscow.
He said both leaders hold a similar stance and "strongly condemn Israel's actions that violate the UN Charter and other norms of international law".
During the telephonic conversation, Xi urged the conflicting parties, especially Israel, to cease fire as soon as possible, said a Chinese Foreign Ministry press release issued in Beijing.
Xi said that protecting civilians' safety is the top priority, calling on the conflicting parties to strictly follow international law, and resolutely avoid harming innocent civilians.
Dialogue and negotiation are the fundamental way out, he said, calling on the international community, particularly major countries that have a special influence on the parties to the conflict, to make efforts to promote the cooling of the situation, rather than the opposite. The UN Security Council should play a greater role in this regard.
China stands ready to continue to strengthen communication and coordination with all parties, pool their efforts, and uphold justice, so as to play a constructive role in restoring peace in the Middle East, Xi said.
Both Xi and Putin are close friends and allies. Together China and Russia are also close allies of Iran.
Both sides have strongly condemned Israeli attacks on Iran, especially targeting Iran’s nuclear sites, but so far refrained from taking any action to defend Iran.
Trump, in a social media post on Wednesday, called for Iran’s “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER” as the conflict continues to escalate. He even threatened to kill the Iranian leader, saying that the US knows where he is hiding.
The Chinese press release said that during the phone call, Putin briefed Xi on Russia’s views on the current situation in the Middle East, saying that Israel's attack on Iran's nuclear facilities is “very dangerous”.
Escalation of the conflict is not in the interests of any party, and the Iranian nuclear issue should be resolved through dialogue and consultation, Putin said.
He also said both parties to the conflict should guarantee the safety of citizens of third countries.
The current situation is still developing rapidly, and Russia is willing to maintain close communication with China, jointly make positive efforts to cool down the situation and maintain regional peace and stability, he said.
Xi expounded China's principled position and said that the current situation in the Middle East is very critical, which once again proves that the world has entered a new period of turbulence and change.
If the conflict escalates further, not only will the conflicting parties suffer greater losses, but regional countries will also suffer greatly, he said.
On the bilateral front, both Xi and Putin highly appreciated the political mutual trust and high-level strategic cooperation between China and Russia.
They agreed to maintain close high-level exchanges, advance cooperation in various fields and promote the in-depth development of the China-Russia comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, the Chinese press release said.
Israel launched Operation Rising Lion last week, targeting Iran's nuclear, missile and military infrastructure. Iran later launched retaliatory strikes on Israel.
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Delhi HC asks Jaideep Sengar to surrender in Unnao custodial death case
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court on Friday asked Jaideep Sengar, brother of Unnao rape case convict Kuldeep Sengar, to surrender before jail authorities in connection with his conviction in the custodial death case of the survivor's father.
A bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja was hearing a plea by the convict for further extension of interim bail upon suspension of the 10-year sentence.
It observed that the interim bail granted to Jaideep Sengar in July 2024 was last extended in April 2025 and since then, in spite of five dates, no order of any further extension or suspension of his sentence has been passed by the court.
As the senior counsel for Jaideep Sengar urged the bench to extend the period of his release on account of his health, the bench said, "You surrender and then we will see."
"Although there is no extension of interim suspension of sentence granted, we find he has still not surrendered. Before we proceed to consider his application for further extension of suspension of sentence, we require the appellant to first surrender," the bench ordered.
The senior counsel for Jaideep Sengar assured the court that he would surrender by Saturday.
The court listed the matter for hearing next week.
Jaideep Sengar, 50, sought the bail extension on the grounds that he is suffering from oral cancer.
The Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) counsel had earlier said it was not a fit case for extension of interim bail, and the prescription given by Jaideep Sengar in support of his plea was fabricated.
In his application, Jaideep Sengar said he was suffering from stage IV oral cancer, a life-threatening condition, and had developed clinical signs of recurrence.
The condition, the plea said, required continuous and specialised medical care.
The plea also informed that Jaideep Sengar has spent about four years in custody.
The high court had granted interim bail to Jaideep Sengar on July 3, 2024, for two months on medical grounds.
Kuldeep Sengar was convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for the remainder of his life on December 20, 2019, for raping the minor in 2017.
On March 13, 2020, Kuldeep Sengar, along with Jaideep Sengar, was sentenced to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment by the trial court, which also imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh, in the custodial death case of the rape survivor's father.
The survivor's father was arrested, allegedly at the behest of the accused, under the Arms Act and died in custody on April 9, 2018, owing to police brutality.
The trial court said no leniency could be shown for killing a family's sole breadwinner.
