Russia ready to hold talks 'any moment' once Ukrainian Army lays down arms: FM Lavrov
Moscow, Feb 25: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday said that Moscow is ready for talks at "any moment" with Ukraine once the Ukrainian military respond positively to President Vladimir Putin's call, end their resistance and lay down their arms.
Lavrov made the remarks following talks with Deputy Foreign Minister of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) Sergey Peresada and Foreign Minister of the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) Vladislav Deinego, the state-run TASS news agency reported.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed treaties with leaders of DPR and LPR on February 21, recognising the two regions of Ukraine as independent.
We are ready to hold talks at any moment, once the Ukrainian Armed Forces respond to our president's call, end their resistance and lay down their arms. No one plans to attack and oppress them, let them return to their families, and let us give the Ukrainian people a chance to decide their future, Lavrov was quoted as saying by the state-run TASS news agency.
President Putin on Thursday launched a multi-pronged all-out attack on Ukraine, casting aside international condemnation and sanctions and warned other countries that any attempt to interfere would lead to "consequences they had never seen".
President Putin announced in a televised address on Thursday morning that in response to a request by the head of the Donbas republic, he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation to protect people who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years.
Putin said the Russian military operation aims to ensure a demilitarisation of Ukraine. Putin also urged Ukrainian servicemen to immediately put down arms and go home.
The US and its allies have decided to block assets of four large Russian banks, impose export controls and sanction oligarchs close to Putin after he ordered a "special military operation" against Ukraine on Thursday.
Stressing that Russia had always called for negotiations, Lavrov said, "there is no shortage of talks but when talks are replaced with blatant sabotage, while Russia is accused of allegedly failing to implement the Minsk accords, it's effrontery, which is what some of our Western colleagues are famous for, but this time, it just went beyond all limits because it was accompanied by a continuous deterioration of the Russian-speaking population's situation in Ukraine.
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No role given to school teachers in matters related to stray dogs: Delhi education minister
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood on Tuesday rejected claims that teachers have been deployed to handle matters related to stray dogs around their educational institutions.
He said that no specific role has been assigned to school teachers in matters related to stray dogs.
Addressing a press conference, Sood alleged, "The Aam Aadmi Party leaders have been spreading misinformation on social media claiming that teachers were being diverted from their academic responsibilities for non-teaching duties."
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No such order or circular has been issued by the Delhi government, the minister said, and challenged the AAP to place any official document in the public domain to substantiate its claim.
The Directorate of Education directed schools in the national capital to appoint nodal officers to handle matters related to stray dogs around their educational institutions, in compliance with a Supreme Court order over the issue, but no such specific role has been assigned to teachers.
In an official statement issued on Monday, the directorate clarified, "No directions have been issued by the Directorate of Education concerning the assignment of specific duties to teachers."
There was no immediate response available from the Aam Aadmi Party to the allegations made by the education minister.
Sood further said that similar allegations were made by the AAP on several occasions in recent days, including claims related to administrative actions and school-related instructions, which he described as “incorrect”.
