'Going to my home': Rahul's message to Priyanka, Sonia ahead of J&K leg of Yatra
Srinagar (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had sent a message to his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and mother Sonia Gandhi before the Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Jammu and Kashmir, saying that he was "going to his home".
This was narrated by Rahul Gandhi's sibling Priyanka Gandhi at a rally to mark the culmination of the nearly five month-long Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir.
Later, Rahul Gandhi said he had tears in his eyes when Priyanka Gandhi talked about his message.
The Gandhis have their familial roots in Jammu and Kashmir.
In her remarks at the rally at the Sher-e-Kashmir stadium which was attended by several Opposition leaders as well, Priyanka Gandhi said the politics that is happening cannot benefit the country.
"The politics that divides, harms the country," she said.
"My brother has been walking for the last five months from Kanyakumari to Srinagar. At the start, I thought it was a long journey, whether people would come out or not. But they came out everywhere from Kanyakumari to here," the Congress general secretary said.
"They came out because people of the country have a spirit for the country's constitution, its unity," she said.
Priyanka Gandhi thanked the people of Jammu and Kashmir for welcoming the yatra with open hearts.
"When my brother was about to reach Jammu and Kashmir, he sent a message to me and my mother saying that he was getting a feeling that he was going to his home," she said.
"He (Rahul) had said that 'my family members (people of Jammu and Kashmir) , when they meet me and hug me, they have tears in their eyes, their pain and sentiments touch my heart'," she said.
Priyanka Gandhi said she felt proud standing here that the Congress carried out a yatra which was supported by the whole country.
In a way the yatra has been spiritual for the Congress leaders who participated, the leaders of other parties who took part, 'Bharat Yatris' and Rahul Gandhi, she said.
"It is our duty to protect the foundation of this country built on the basis of truth, 'ahimsa (non-violence)' and love," she said.
Priyanka Gandhi said the 'Bharat Yatris' have shown the way of love and brotherhood.
"They have shown us a ray of hope. I hope that the hate will end and love will take the country forward and unite everyone," she said.
The yatra culminated on Monday with an event at the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) headquarters in the Lal Chowk area here and the rally at the stadium.
The yatra traversed 12 states and two Union territories in over 140 days after its launch on September 7 last year, clocking over 4,000 km.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
