Russian president Putin arrives in Delhi on 2-day visit
New Delhi (PTI): Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in New Delhi Thursday evening on a two-day visit to further expand a nearly eight-decade India-Russia partnership that remained in stead notwithstanding a fractious geopolitical environment.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host a private dinner for Putin this evening to set the tone for the 23rd India-Russia summit talks on Friday.
Boosting defence ties, insulating India-Russia trade from external pressure and exploring cooperation in small modular reactors are set to be the focus of the summit meeting between the two leaders that is expected to be closely watched by Western capitals.
The Russian leader's nearly 27-hour visit to New Delhi has assumed greater significance as it is taking place against the backdrop of rapid downturn in India-US relations. Following the summit, the two sides are expected to seal several agreements including in areas of trade.
On Friday morning, Putin will be accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan before the summit.
Modi will also host a working lunch for the Russian leader and his delegation at Hyderabad House, the venue for the summit.
Putin will also visit Rajghat in the morning, according to people familiar with the matter.
After the summit, Putin is set to launch the new India channel of Russian state-run broadcaster, following which he will attend a state banquet to be hosted in his honour by President Droupadi Murmu.
The Russian leader is expected to leave India around 9 pm on Friday.
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Trump vows to ‘finish job’, thanks Middle East allies; urges countries to show courage, buy US oil
Says US will ‘hit Iran extremely hard’ over next 2-3 weeks, threatens power plants
Washington: US President Donald Trump has said the United States is close to achieving its objectives in Iran, while thanking key allies in the Middle East for their support.
“We are gonna finish the job. We are getting very close,” Trump said, expressing appreciation to Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE and Bahrain. “They’ve been great and we will not let them fail in any way shape or form,” he added.
Trump claimed that US military operations against Iran have delivered major results over the past month. Referring to “Operation Epic Fury”, he said American forces had carried out “swift, decisive, overwhelming victories on the battlefield”.
He said Iran’s naval and air capabilities had been severely weakened and its ability to launch missiles and drones had been significantly reduced. “Their ability to launch missiles and drones is dramatically curtailed, and their weapons factories and rocket launchers are being blown to pieces – very few of them left,” he said.
The US president also repeated his criticism of the 2015 nuclear deal signed under former President Barack Obama, claiming it would have allowed Iran to develop nuclear weapons. Iran has consistently maintained that its nuclear programme is peaceful.
Trump said the US military campaign aims to weaken Iran’s ability to support proxy groups and prevent it from developing nuclear weapons. “Taken together, these actions will cripple Iran militarily,” he said, adding that key strategic objectives are “nearing completion”.
In a separate remark, Trump urged countries dependent on Gulf oil to take action and suggested they should rely more on American energy supplies. He called on them to show “delayed courage” and secure the Strait of Hormuz, which has been affected by the ongoing conflict.
“[They] should have done it before, should have done it with us, as we asked. Go to the strait and just take it, protect it,” he said, adding that the United States has sufficient oil resources.
The remarks come as tensions remain high in the region, with continued military exchanges and growing concerns over global energy supplies.
“We will continue until our objectives are fully achieved. Thanks to the progress, we’ve made, I can say we are on track to complete all of America’s objectives shortly, very shortly,” the US president said.
We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks. We are going to take them back to the stone ages where they belong,” he added.
He further added that “regime change was never our goal” but that “regime change has occurred because of their original leader’s death”.
He’s also warned Iran of strikes on power plants if no deal is agreed.
“If during this period of time, no deal is made, we have our eyes on key targets. If no deal is reached we are going to hit every one of their electric generating plants very hard, and probably simultaneously,” he says.
